It has attracted considerable attention for its partnership between 2004 and 2007 of Corinthians football club in Brazil, and for its involvement in the 'third-party' ownership of players, notably the Argentinian forward Carlos Tevez.
Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea, was at one time rumored to own a 15% share in the group, while Joorabchian was persistently linked to the oligarch Boris Berezovsky and his associate Badri Patarkatsishvili.
[2][3] Media Sport Investment Limited was founded in 2004 in London by Joorabchian and Nojan Bedroud (a FIFA licensed agent) to control Corinthians football department.
[10] In July 2007, however, a Brazilian judge issued arrest warrants for Boris Berezovsky, Joorabchian, Bedroud and four officials of club, including the chairman, Alberto Dualib, on charges of money laundering.
[13] The federal attorneys Silvio Luis Martins de Oliveira and Rodrigo de Grandis were reported by the Brazilian legal website consultor Juridico as saying that MSI's transactions were "carried out with the use of numerous offshore accounts which have the single and well-known intention of distancing the investor and the illicit origin of the resources from their final destination, in this case the purchase and sale of players".
Joorabchian's involvement with team affairs had come in for criticism and both Tevez and Javier Mascherano had been moved to West Ham United in the English Premier League.
"In this case, there is no proof of a single offense, nor is it pointed out that the alleged group ever have had any intention or interest in the committing any crimes," added the judge.
The following day the club announced the opening of "exploratory discussions" over a possible takeover, reportedly by a consortium fronted by Joorabchian and Paul Yeubrey.
[29] In August 2007, Tevez joined Manchester United on a two-year deal in which his player's registration was leased by the club while his economic rights were retained by his third-party owners.
[33] In June 2008 the transfer of Brazilian player Jô from CSKA Moscow to Manchester City was initially blocked by the Premier League while they investigated his association with MSI and Joorabchian.