Sports chief kills himself as missing trader loses £13m

A basketball manager hanged himself after investments linked to a London financier left him £12million in debt.

Moni Fanan, one of Israel's best-known sporting figures, had invested vast sums of his own cash and money from his players with City financier Nicholas Levene, known as "Beano".

But pressure on Mr Fanan, 63, the former general manager of Israeli basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv, is thought to have increased when players began demanding money back.

He was found dead by his wife in the shower of their home in Israel on Monday. Reports have now linked him to Mr Levene, a 45-year-old trader from High Barnet who went missing after being declared bankrupt and has since been reported to be having treatment at the Priory rehab clinic.

Mr Fanan managed the basketball club for 16 years, winning 15 titles before stepping down last year. Friends said he boasted of deals with Mr Levene, who went to Israel several times.

"A lot of people at the funeral gave their money to Moni Fanan," a senior players' agent said at the service yesterday. A lawyer with knowledge of Mr Fanan's dealings said: "At some point, Moni became Levene's money channel in Israel. Moni didn't hang himself because of debts to one player or another. Things turned bad for Moni when he started dealing with heavy sums. By the time he really got in trouble, other people were involved."

Investigators at the Serious Fraud Office were considering today whether to launch a full inquiry into the activities of Mr Levene. Yesterday it emerged that the trader had quit the board of Leyton Orient football club. He previously had his assets frozen by the High Court after failing to return around £70million in profits to investors.

His clients included a number of high-profile business people, including Richard Caring, owner of The Ivy and Le Caprice restaurants, and Stagecoach bus company founders Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag, who Mr Levene is believed to owe £18million.

Scotland Yard began examining evidence against Mr Levene last week. They have now passed their initial findings to the Serious Fraud Office.

Mr Levene, a derivatives expert, has not responded to a series of High Court writs demanding repayment of gambling debts and trading profits. He told Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn of his decision to stand down as vice-chairman in a telephone call.

Mr Levene worked for MG Equity Partners, based in Berkeley Square. Insolvency experts at Deloitte are gathering information to try to pinpoint exactly how much Mr Levene may owe and what assets he has.

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