Arcady Gaydamak, father of former Portsmouth owner Alexandre Gaydamak, has been sentenced in his absence to six years in prison by a French court for almost US$800 million worth of arms dealing with Angola.

Gaydamak, currently believed to be in hiding, claimed last year that he, not Alexandre, was the true owner of Portsmouth. Since then, the Premier League's problems have been manifest, with Gaydamak selling the team to Sulaiman Al Fahim - who promptly admitted he could not finance the takeover and resold it to Saudi business tycoon Ali Al Faraj.

• Portsmouth sold for second time in as many months

Interpol have a long-standing arrest warrant for Gaydamak, but both Israel and Russia have refused extradition.