A tycoon who is the subject of serious allegations made in a secret ‘brief’ sent to government advisors relating to a historic English football club has blasted the claims as a ‘smear campaign’ by his enemies.

Kuwaiti magnate Dr Abdullah Al-Humaidi, 38, owned Roy Hodgson‘s old club Ebbsfleet United FC from 2013 to 2023 before he went bankrupt because of his failed 12-year bid to build a £3.5billion amusement park dubbed the ‘Dartford Disneyland’ in Kent.

MailOnline can reveal that last month, political advisors at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) were sent a brief containing concerns Dr Al-Humaidi may have used Ebbsfleet for improper means.

Dr Al-Humaidi vehemently denied the claims and said they were smears by his business rivals. However, he has also admitted he is in the middle of a Kuwaiti legal dispute, is accused of fraud and has been sentenced to three years in prison with labour for cheque misdemeanours.

In a statement issued on his behalf, he said: ‘It is wholly false to suggest that I have supported any unlawful behaviour or activities, and I am confident that any enquiries into these matters would reach the same conclusion.’

Although he is appealing the conviction and fighting the fraud allegation, the brief could put him and Ebbsfleet in lawmakers’ sights as the Football Governance Bill returns to Parliament.

The secret dossier seen by MailOnline levelled serious accusations at Dr Al-Humaidi, claimed he is the subject of an international arrest warrant and said he remains the ultimate owner of Ebbsfleet United, despite his bankruptcy.

Dr Al-Humaidi denied he is the club’s ultimate owner even though he attends every home match, his cousin is the new director and the Al-Humaidi family’s money still funds the club, which is mired in a relegation battle with less than 10 points to their name so far this season. 

The London resort, nicknamed the ‘Dartford Disneyland’ (pictured), was supposed to be a £3.5billion project that would bring jobs to the community

MailOnline can reveal that political advisors at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have been sent a brief (sections pictured) outlining concerns about Dr Al-Humaidi – which he vehemently denies

Dr Al-Humaidi bought the club in 2013 and was the director and chairman until 2023

Former England manager Roy Hodgson (pictured) played for Ebbsfleet 59 times between 1969 and 1971 when it was known as Gravesend and Northfleet FC

Dr Al-Humaidi’s lawyers said there is no international arrest warrant for him on Interpol and is fighting the claim of fraud and appealing his conviction for cheque misdemeanours.

Although it is unclear who the brief’s author is and was sent to advisors by a lobbyist, it has made its way into the hands of some of the most important political advisors in the land when it comes to football scrutiny.

The brief said: ‘At best, there should be serious question marks over [Dr] Abdulla Al-Humaidi’s ownership of Ebbsfleet United as he does not meet the criteria for the ”Fit and proper person test”, and yet remains the owner of Ebbsfleet United through his holding company.

‘This is exemplified by his failure to pay the players wages, using them as leverage over the players, and refusing to provide adequate insurance and medical cover. 

‘At worst, there are serious concerns that he may be using the Football Club, which should receive proper scrutiny and further investigation if necessary. 

‘The Football Governance Bill was first drafted and introduced to create an independent body to oversee and look into issues exactly like this, especially lower down the leagues where far less attention, and therefore scrutiny, is applied compared to the Premier League or even the English Football League.’

The bill, first designed by the previous Conservative government, aims to create an independent football regulator with the power to oversee clubs in England’s top five leagues, protect and promote clubs’ financial sustainability and safeguard the English game and the financial resilience of the whole system.

On Thursday, the bill was reintroduced to Parliament, more than a decade after Dr Al-Humaidi bought Ebbsfleet.

Pictured: The land on Swanscombe Peninsula near Dartford, Kent, that was earmarked for the huge theme park

A map proposing a layout of the theme park – which now looks increasingly unlikely to be built

The attraction was set to feature 50 rides, including eight roller coasters and different zones containing medieval castles and an Aztec pyramid, together with a 2,000-seater theatre and nightclub

It was hoped the project would rejuvenate the local economy and bring thousands of jobs to the area

Yet now a legal battle over the park is threatening to bring Ebbsfleet United into lawmakers’ sights

The Al-Humaidis have been a prominent and successful family in Kuwait since the 1940s, when Hamad Al-Humaidhi made the family a fortune in trading and investments.

His daughter Souad Al-Humaidhi helped the business expand throughout the country and the Middle East. 

She became widely respected in Kuwait and expanded the family’s interests into other countries, especially Lebanon.

Souad was also married to Sheikh Jaber Al-Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister for around 20 years.

Dr Abdulla Al-Humaidi’s involvement started in 2008, when he set up Kuwaiti European Holding Group (KEH) after studying medicine for seven years at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.

KEH allowed the family to invest on the world stage in Middle Eastern and European projects.

But while the Al-Humaidi family may have had success in Kuwaiti real estate, Dr Al-Humaidi’s dream of building an amusement park on the outskirts of London was his downfall.

The London resort, nicknamed the ‘Dartford Disneyland’ was supposed to be a £3.5billion project that would bring jobs to the community.

Instead, after more than a decade of planning issues and tens of millions invested, Dr Al-Humaidi said the project had ‘destroyed my life’, ‘ruined my reputation and left me bankrupt’.

The plan was for the attraction to have 50 rides, eight roller coasters and different zones containing medieval castles and an Aztec pyramid, as well as a 2,000-seater theatre and nightclub.

It would have had a Godfather-themed restaurant called Corleones and a Mission Impossible training centre as part of a licensing agreement with Paramount, BBC and ITV. 

Dr Abdullah Al-Humaidi, 38, is a father-of-two and part of a wealthy Kuwaiti family

The tycoon bought Ebbsfleet United in 2013 but had to step down as chairman and director after going bankrupt

The club had its ups and downs under his ownership and currently are mired in a relegation battle at the bottom of the National League, the fifth tier of English football

The resort would have been three times bigger than any other UK theme park, equivalent to 136 Wembley Stadiums, and represented the biggest investment in Europe since Disneyland Paris in 1992.

The site would also have included a waterpark, conference and convention centre and e-sports facility.

Politicians and local councils were optimistic about the project, hoping that the resort would bring more than 30,000 jobs – while jumpstarting the economies of nearby Gravesend and Dartford.

Two ferry terminals – one on each side of the River Thames – would have allowed thousands to flock to the park.

Yet the plan to build the resort on 535 acres of former industrial land on the Swanscombe Peninsula near Dartford in Kent hit multiple snags. 

After years of fighting for planning permission, the plan started to fall apart when a large part of the peninsula was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest by Natural England owing to its grassland, wetlands, birds, and critically endangered jumping spiders.

Dr Al-Humaidi blamed English planning law for the failure of the park, telling KentOnline: ‘The planning system in this country is broken and that’s why a lot of institutional money doesn’t invest in pre-planning.’

The financier said this led to his Kuwaiti investors getting cold feet.

He added: ‘People started calling me and saying the London Resort doesn’t exist. They say, ”How can £60-80million be spent on something and there’s nothing to show for it? We don’t believe a spider can stop a development of this size. Or some plants or vegetation.”

‘On the back of that, I had 15 cases of fraud brought against me in Kuwait, all of them saying that the company doesn’t exist, it’s a fictitious project.’

His investors started cashing the cheques he promised to guarantee their investment. When those cheques bounced, he says he automatically received a prison sentence. 

Creditors are reportedly chasing Dr Al-Humaidi for millions of pounds and streaming giant Paramount has sued the company he used to run that tried building the park.

He is reportedly too afraid to return to Kuwait for fear of being sent to jail. 

Yet while Dr Al-Humaidi has struggled with his ‘Dartford Disneyland’ dream, his investment into Ebbsfleet United was initially a success.

After years of financial uncertainty for Ebbsfleet, Dr Al-Humaidi bought the club using KEH Sports Ltd in 2013, cleared £600,000 of debt, bought the freehold of the ground and saw a new £5million stand built.

The club won promotion to the National League in 2017 and reached the playoffs the following season.

Then in 2019, despite pushing for the playoffs again, a row broke out between the players and Dr Al-Humaidi.

The first team released a public statement saying wages had only been paid on time once in the past 12 months, players took part in matches without realising the club didn’t have the right medical insurance in place and the club hadn’t paid into their pension pots.

The team accused the club of misleading fans by saying Ebbsfleet was financially stable.

As ‘punishment’ for going public with their concerns, Dr Al-Humaidi reportedly refused to pay players’ wages for April and the summer months and put all players on the summer transfer list.

The row came to an end and the Kuwaiti agreed to bow to players’ demands. Even so, the club’s troubles continued when Ebbsfleet was slapped with a transfer embargo for not paying a tax bill.

The following year, famed club fixer Damian Irvine took over as CEO.

Despite their relegation from the National League when the season was ended prematurely because of Covid, Irvine oversaw a healthy restructure at the club.

Last month, Lisa Nandy (pictured), the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said Labour was ‘looking forward to introducing the [Football Governance Bill] without any further delay’

Uefa’s general secretary Theodore Theodoridis reportedly criticised plans for an independent football regulator

Last year, Ebbsfleet equalled the division’s record points tally of 103 and were promoted back to the National League. 

In December 2023, Dr Al-Humaidi was declared bankrupt and was removed as director and chairman of Ebbsfleet.

Yet Ebbsfleet United is still owned by the Al-Humaidi family’s KEH Sports Limited, which is ultimately owned by KEHC (UK) Limited. 

Companies House lists Dr Al-Humaidi as the only person with significant control of that company, which would make him the ultimate owner. 

However, Dr Al-Humaidi said Companies House is out of date, denied he has control over Ebbsfleet and the club said he ‘does not have a connection’ to them.

The former owner’s legal representative told MailOnline: ‘Mr Alhumaidi has explained that the land deal in 2015 was properly executed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. 

‘Unfortunately, the Kuwaiti courts did not admit Land Registry documents as evidence, due to different and non-comparable forms of ownership in the two countries. 

‘There is no equivalent of the Land Registry in Kuwait. [Dr] Al-Humaidi is confident that the Kuwaiti courts will overturn the judgment when presented with proper evidence of how the Land Registry operates in the United Kingdom.’

Dr Al-Humaidi said: ‘It is wholly false to suggest that I have supported any unlawful behaviour or activities, and I am confident that any enquiries into these matters would reach the same conclusion.’ 

Calls for an independent football regulator have increased after a series of clubs faced financial difficulties after some of them were bought by unscrupulous owners.

Derby, West Brom, Reading, Portsmouth, Coventry, Sheffield Wednesday, Scunthorpe, Oldham, Yeovil, Darlington, Southend and Bury are all clubs that have faced difficulties in recent years, many owing to poor management from owners.

Football fans say the proposed oversight is essential to stopping clubs from falling victim to owners who run clubs into the ground.

And despite pressure from Premier League clubs and Uefa bigwig Theodore Theodoridis, many English fans hope an independent football regulator would prevent owners from taking advantage of clubs, asset stripping or racking up huge debts before walking away and leaving the players and supporters to deal with the mess. 

On October 17, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy told Parliament: ‘When a football club is under threat from mismanagement or poor ownership, it is absolutely devastating for generations of fans for whom this is part of their civic inheritance.

‘We’re looking forward to introducing the Football [Governance] Bill without any further delay and working to make sure that we introduce the strongest possible protections to put fans back at the heart of the game where they belong.’

Ebbsfleet United (EUFC) refused to comment about its former owner’s legal battle or the potential scrutiny it may face. It said its CEO Damian Irvine ‘is a supporter of the football regulator, the legislation, which was proposed to install one, and has met and continues to meet with representatives of the government regarding this’.

The club declined to comment about Dr Al-Humaidi’s bankruptcy. 

Regarding the 2019 row over unpaid wages, it said: ‘Following the instalment of the CEO, there have been no financial issues or unpaid wages. EUFC players receive the highest level of medical cover and support and have done so over the past five seasons and will continue to receive such support.’

It added: ‘The CEO has a history and reputation for prioritising supporters of clubs where he has been involved. This demonstrates how important supporters are to EUFC.’

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment.

The Conservatives, the National League and the FA did not respond to requests for comment.