Sheffield United's Dozy Mmobuosi 'takeover', that County Court judgement and the EFL test

Twenty-four hours after it emerged the Nigerian businessman is the subject of an order relating to nonpayment of rent on a property in St Albans, Hertfordshire, the English Football League released a statement confirming they had raised a number of “queries” relating to his proposed purchase.

MORE: EFL have issues about United bid

However, sources with an in-depth knowledge of the test anyone wishing to seize control of an EFL club must pass last night confirmed the way CCJ’s are viewed by the governing body is more complex than the legalese outlining its regulations might suggest. Some would automatically count as a disqualifying condition but others, they explained, might not - depending upon the circumstances surrounding their issue.

MORE: Associate linked to Ferdinand backed West Ham bid

Despite using a series of interviews last week to express his confidence that the EFL will back his candidacy, Mmobuosi still has a number of hurdles to overcome in order to salvage his attempt to buy United from Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. While the EFL’s investigators are clearly not yet convinced of his suitability, a number of other potential red flags have been raised surrounding the 43-year-old.

Despite being the founder of Tingo - an agri-fintech company based in his homeland - there questions still remain about the exact extent of Mmobuosi’s personal wealth. Tingo Mobile, now a subsidiary of American firm MICT, issues handsets to farmers in the west African state to help their businesses and efficiency. But independently verified figures confirming how many clients it has are difficult to find.

MORE: What Dozy must prove

Another division of Tingo, which works in the aviation sector, is in the process of being removed from the Companies House register. Mmobuosi publicly stated this is because of problems relating to the Covid-19 pandemic, and that he has set up a new project with another carrier based in Lagos state. There is no mention of this venture on its own website, as it does not appear to have been updated for a considerable period of time.

MORE: CCJ complicates things

MICT, whose chief executive Darren Mercer once held a similar position with BNN Technology, recently hired a team of lawyers to investigate what it suspects could be deliberate outside manipulation of its stock which, at the time of writing, was hovering around the $1 mark. Mercer resigned his position with BNN by mutual consent, before later being reinstated by an independent committee tasked with considering allegations of mismanagement by its former finance director - albeit in a different role and without board status. MICT, which is listed on the Nasdaq exchange, was previously known as Micronet EnertecTechnologies Inc.

As well as speaking with CNN, Mmobuosi also appeared on Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel to outline his plans for United, who travel to Millwall tomorrow ranked second in the Championship and seven points clear of third. Mmobuosi’s associate and president of Tingo International Holdings, Chris Cleverley, was a partner at PAI Capital when they launched a failed bid, backed by Ferdinand, to purchase West Ham.

There is no indication that either MICT or Cleverley are involved with Mmobuosi’s push to acquire United.