Joshua Kushner has secured high-profile US lawyer Alex Spiro to defend his investment company, Thrive Capital, in a legal spat with Uefa over a failed project concerning Fifa’s World Cup.
Spiro, a partner in New York law firm Quinn Emanuel, informed a US district court on Monday that he is acting on behalf of Kushner and Thrive Capital in relation to Uefa’s legal action.
Thrive Capital, founded by Kushner, one of Ivanka Trump’s brothers-in-law, held clandestine negotiations with Fifa president Gianni Infantino for a deal whereby the private equity fund would seek to buy or market a commercial entity that would control as much as a 20 per cent stake in the World Cup.
The deal has now fallen apart, while Uefa has escalated its investigation of the project and begun to challenge Infantino’s leadership. The organisation in charge of European football has brought legal proceedings in three separate US courts to compel Uefa to disclose documents related to the Fifa Forward Enterprise project, and also seeks information relating to US banks JP Morgan and Greg Maffei, who was reported to have been engaged with the project.
Kushner expressed his remorse for the company’s participation, stating he and Thrive Capital “failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football”.
Spiro has previously acted for figures such as Elon Musk, Jay-Z and Alec Baldwin.
Meanwhile, Infantino continues his campaign for another term as president of FIFA, with an election in March.
