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UK Freezes Assets of Morecambe Takeover Figure Over Alleged Babbar Khalsa Support

The club’s owners cut his association after the Treasury’s action, exposing vetting gaps that the new regulator is now probing.

Overview

  • HM Treasury sanctioned Gurpreet Singh Rehal, assessing that he promoted, recruited for, and provided financial services to the proscribed group Babbar Khalsa, and imposed a UK director’s disqualification.
  • All UK assets of Rehal and the related organisation Babbar Akali Lehar are frozen under the Domestic Counter‑Terrorism Regime, the first such action targeting funding linked to Babbar Khalsa.
  • Morecambe FC and Panjab Warriors said they have removed Rehal’s affiliation, describing his past role as a marketing and communications consultancy position without strategic, financial, or operational authority.
  • The Independent Football Regulator is using statutory information‑gathering powers for an urgent assessment and has accelerated a new owners’ and directors’ test to start next Friday, with requirements for new applicants from May.
  • Rehal was not listed as a director or person of significant control during June’s takeover approval, so he was not scrutinized by a regulator, despite his public visibility in club announcements and recent appearances with MPs and league officials.