Bellagraph Nova Group (BN Group), a Singapore-registered company, that wants to buy Newcastle United Football Club in the English Premier League said that its marketing photos featuring former U.S. President Barack Obama were edited.
What's more, Newcastle legend and England international Alan Shearer's management group denied that he is involved with the takeover.
A report by Reuters revealed that it found "inconsistencies" when speaking to the various people and entities that the BN Group has claimed to be working with.
The Obama photo
The group's website previously featured a photo of President Obama with founders Terence Loh, Nelson Loh and Evangeline Shen.
Photo from @ProperBr00tal Twitter
However, the group's Chief Marketing and Investor Relations officer Nereides Antonio Giamundo de Bourbon told Reuters that the company had altered photos to make it look as though the president had met with the executives in a private meeting.
Screen shot from mrkuoks Instagram page.
Shen and the Lohs did take photos with Obama, but this was at a charity event in Singapore in Dec. 2019.
Reuters contacted the photographer who took the photos, who said they were taken in Singapore, sponsored by a healthcare company founded by the Lohs.
Bourbon said that some of the photos published and released to the media had been edited to make it appear as though they were in a private meeting with Obama.
He added:
"We are serious people ... the only ambiguous thing has been the photoshop picture. There wasn’t any malicious aim behind it."
A new photo has been uploaded to the website, which shows a different person sitting on Obama's left, and no logo or company name on the screen behind:
Screen shot from Bellagraph Nova's website.
Where's the office?
BN Group states that its corporate headquarters is located in the Place Vendôme in Paris.
However, Reuters said as of Aug. 21, they did not find any company named Bellagraph Nova Group registered in France.
They also sent someone to check out the address, but did not find any company named Bellagraph Nova Group operating there.
"A receptionist at an office rental business operated by Regus in the building said BN Group has used its space but its staff were not always present. Bourbon maintained to Reuters that BN Group had a permanent office in Place Vendome."
BN Group was recently incorporated in Singapore, according to a July 2020 press release.
According to Bourbon, the Singapore-registered company was the "parent", but they are moving all the "realty" to Europe.
No Alan Shearer
According to a CNA report, quoting a statement by BN Group, it "enlisted the help" of former Newcastle players Alan Shearer and Michael Chopra for their bid.
However, Shearer's management told Reuters that he was not involved in the takeover.
Chopra was pictured at BN Group's "headquarters in Paris", according to a tweet from the company on Aug. 14.
It was also retweeted by Chopra himself.
The Twitter account was set up earlier this month and only started tweeting on Aug. 10.
Reuters said Chopra did not respond to a request for comment, although he recently tweeted "still waiting NUFC", referring to BN Group's bid.
Reuters stated that Shen declined to be interviewed for their story, while the Lohs did not respond to a request for comment.
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Top image from Twitter and BN Group website.