Sheikh Al-Thani's son to be extradited from Germany to Spain in Malaga CF fraud case

He is one of the defendants in criminal proceedings involving the Al-Thani family and former club employees. Once transferred, he will appear before Investigating Court No. 14 in Malaga, where judge María de los Ángeles Ruiz will decide whether to remand him in custody, set bail conditions or release him.

Rakan was arrested at Munich Airport on 12 September at 4pm, shortly before boarding Qatar Airways flight QR058 to Doha. The arrest was made under an international warrant activated in July. It was reported to the judge overseeing the case and the parties involved on Monday, and the European arrest warrant was translated into German.

In July, Investigating Court No. 14 in Malaga ordered the provisional detention of the four members of the Al-Thani family involved in the case, citing a risk of flight after they could not be located to receive court notifications. The warrants were entered into the Schengen Information System, shared with the SIRENE Bureau, which coordinates supplementary information on European arrest warrants, and sent to Interpol. These measures led to Rakan's arrest.

The family's failure to co-operate prompted the Public Prosecutor's Office to appeal to the provincial court, seeking to bypass the usual international judicial assistance procedure and obtain arrest warrants directly for the sheikh and his three sons implicated in the case. The aim was to speed up proceedings and bring the preliminary investigation to a definitive close. The case originated with a complaint filed by the Association of Small Shareholders (APA).

Although Rakan kept a lower profile than his brothers Nayef and Nasser during his time on the Costa del Sol, prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for him over alleged offences relating to the management of Malaga CF.

He served on the club's board of directors during his father's tenure, before the club was placed under judicial administration in February 2020. José María Muñoz was appointed to oversee its affairs.

The family is being investigated over alleged misappropriation, mismanagement and the imposition of abusive agreements. Prosecutors have sought prison sentences of 14 years for each of the four family members.

The latest development comes shortly after reports emerged that Nasser Al-Thani, the eldest son of majority shareholder Abdullah Al-Thani, had left an unpaid bill of 458,000 pounds, equivalent to approximately 532,000 euros, at the luxury Dorchester hotel in London.

A court authorised the hotel to seize and sell a car the sheikh had left on its premises. However, it remains unclear whether the incident took place before the international arrest warrant was activated, which could explain why he was not detained when entering or leaving the United Kingdom.

Rakan's transfer to Spain marks another step in the criminal proceedings, but it does not necessarily mean the case will be concluded more quickly. The remaining family members are still untraceable by the court handling the case and currently have no legal representatives. This has prevented the court from notifying them of the investigation's closure and the penalties being sought.

Separately, hotel group BlueBay, through its subsidiary Management Empresarial Málaga, holds a 49 per cent stake in NAS Spain, with Abdullah Al-Thani owning the remaining 51 per cent. NAS Spain, in turn, owns almost 97 per cent of Malaga CF.

BlueBay is seeking to take control of the club. At NAS Spain's most recent ordinary general meeting, Jamal Satli and Javier García Recio were appointed joint directors of the company.