UK billionaire Joe Lewis receives pardon from Trump

Billionaire UK businessman Joe Lewis, whose family trust owns Tottenham Hotspur football club, has received a pardon from US President Donald Trump.

Lewis, 88, pleaded guilty to insider trading as part of an agreement with prosecutors in 2024 that saw him avoid prison.

He was accused of passing on information about his companies to his private pilots, friends, personal assistants and romantic partners in a fraud that authorities said netted millions of dollars in profit.

A White House official said Trump approved the pardon for Lewis, who requested it so he could receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the US.

“Mr Lewis admitted he made a terrible mistake, did not fight extradition in the case, and paid a $5 million fine,” the official told the BBC.

In a statement, Lewis said: “I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark.”

Confirming the pardon to the BBC, a source close to the Lewis family said they were “extremely grateful” for the pardon, and thanked Trump.

Lewis founded the investment firm Tavistock Group, which has ownership stakes in a large array of property, sports, finance, energy and life sciences companies.

He was ranked 39th in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated worth of more than £5bn ($6.4bn).

He was arrested in July 2023 and charged with sixteen counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy.

Prosecutors had alleged that between 2013 and 2021, he abused his access to corporate boardrooms and passed the insider information on to his contacts.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said those contacts made millions of dollars in “sure thing” bets on the stock market.

In one instance, according to an indictment, Lewis told a girlfriend to invest in a biotech company in July 2019, before the results of a clinical trial by the company were made public.

He then allegedly logged into her bank account himself and used $700,000 to invest in the company, eventually netting a profit of $849,000.

In 2024, Lewis pleaded guilty to conspiracy and two counts of securities fraud as part of a deal with prosecutors. He was later fined $5 million and sentenced to three years of probation.

Lewis is best known for his ownership of Tottenham Hotspur football club, which he bought a controlling stake in for £22m in 2001 – a sum then worth around $32m.

In 2022, control was handed over to a family trust, and financial documents the club filed with the UK’s Companies House indicate that Lewis no longer has “significant control” over the club.