Valērijs Belokoņs

Valērijs Belokoņs (also known as Valeri Belokon) (born 14 February 1960) is a Latvian businessman. He is a majority shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Baltic International Bank, a Latvian commercial bank; a former co-owner of Blackpool F.C. From 12 January 2010 to 4 June 2013, he served as a Trustee of The Prince's Foundation for Building Community.[1]

Valērijs Belokoņs
Valērijs Belokoņs at Bloomfield Road
Born (1960-02-14) 14 February 1960
Riga, Soviet Latvia
NationalityLatvian
OccupationBusinessperson
Known forFounder of Baltic International Bank (Latvia)
former co-owner of Blackpool F.C.
Patron of literature.
Children3

For his continuous support of Latvian literature he is well known as Patron of literature.[2]

Education

Born in Riga, in the former Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Belokoņs studied at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (USA) and the University of Latvia, Faculty of Philology.[3]

Business career

Belokoņs is the chairperson of the Supervisory Board of Baltic International Bank,[4] and his corporation Belokoņs Holdings has interests in finance, media, the Food industry and social projects in Latvia as well as football in England.

In the 1980s, prior to becoming involved in business, Belokoņs worked as a correspondent in Soviet Youth newspaper in Latvia.[5]

Main business interests:[6]

  • Finance and investments
    • Baltic International Bank[4] – founded in 1993, servicing VIP customers. Position - Founder, Main Shareholder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Representative offices based in London and Kiev[4]
    • Manas Bank – formerly Insan Bank in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Acquired in 2008. Placed in insolvent liquidation on 6 July 2015. Position - Sole owner. On a petition from the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Paris Court of Appeal of the French Republic found on 21 February 2017 "that Insan Bank was taken over by Mr Belokon in order to develop, in a state where his privileged relations with the holder of economic power guaranteed him the absence of any true monitoring of his activities, money laundering practices which could not have flourished in the less favourable environment of Latvia."[7][4]
    • Since 2007- JSC Investment Management Company Global Fondi - co-founded by ex Prime Minister of Latvia, The former Chairman of National Bank of Latvia - Einars Repše
    • Since 2009 - JSC Hercogiste - company's aim is to develop sustainable projects in Latvia
  • Media
    • Otkritij Gorod – a monthly magazine in Baltic countries
    • Novo News – a daily Internet newspaper
    • Since 1995 - Valērijs Belokoņs's Publishing House Ltd – became popular with the National encyclopaedia Latvijas Enciklopēdija and annual edition Who's Who in Latvia
  • Social Projects
    • Baltic Institute of Strategic Studies – a non-profit scientific research organization founded in 2004.

Blackpool F.C.

Through Belokoņs Holdings and VB Football Assets, Belokon bought a 20% stake in Blackpool Football Club in 2006, and is the club's president. In June 2007 he stated that he was prepared to increase his stake in Blackpool from 20% to 50% following the club's promotion to The Championship.

On 8 July 2008, Belokoņs announced that he and Owen Oyston, the majority share-holder of the club, would be personally financing the construction of the new South Stand and South-west corner at Bloomfield Road, with work to start immediately.

On 31 July 2009, it was announced that Belokoņs was setting up a new transfer fund for Blackpool, into which he was adding a "considerable amount" on 5 August in order to invest in new players identified by team manager Ian Holloway.

On 22 May 2010, Blackpool were promoted to the top tier of English football, the Premier League, one year sooner than Belokoņs had predicted when joining the club in 2006.

In September 2015, Belokoņs initiated legal action against the Oystons, alleging improper use of club funds.

In August 2017, Belokoņs resigned as director of Blackpool. In November 2017 a court determined that Owen Oyston and his son had abused their majority shareholding position at the club in a manner that was detrimental both to the business and Belokons himself. They were ordered to pay £31 million to buy out Belokons' share of the business.

Simon Sadler became Blackpool's new owner in June 2019. He acquired a 96.2% stake in the club.[8]

Personal life

Belokoņs has three children.[3]

References
  1. UK Companies House Records. https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/03579567/officers Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  2. "Literature projects supported by Valeri Belokon".
  3. "Exclusive interview with Valeri Belokon". 24 Kg News Agency. 13 October 2006. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
  4. "Baltic International Bank website". bib.eu (in Latvian). Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  5. Valeri Belokon: "Patriotism starts with respect to oneself". Interview with Valērijs Belokoņs. http://www.freecity.lv/persona/51691/ 23 May 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  6. "Our Businesses". Belokon Holdings. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
  7. The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/18/blackpool-takeover-valeri-belokon-owen-oyston
  8. "Why Simon Sadler’s takeover means Blackpool FC are Oyston free for good" - Blackpool Gazette, 13 June 2019
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