by Edward Chaykovsky
Former world champion Amir Khan was the target of a blackmail plan, a Bolton court heard earlier today.
Hamza Din sent Khan's management company an email claiming he had a video of Khan and a “girl” together in a Newcastle hotel room.
Din, 27, demanded money and said he would release the clip to the media unless they “matched the price” it would sell for.
Din said in the e-mail, sent on March 27, that the video was “100% real” and he threatened to release the footage if he heard no response. Khan's team reported the email to the local authorities.
Din, who the court heard has mental health and gambling problems, didn’t make a reference to any sum of money.
There was never any proof that any such video exists and Khan never knew Din.
Din, who was eventually arrested on June 22, pleaded guilty to a single charge of blackmail and now faces a possible jail sentence.
In a statement read to the court, Khan said he wanted Din’s “medical health” to be considered ahead of sentencing.
Khan also said he and his family had “not been overly affected by what has gone on”. But he added: “I do not want anyone else to be put in a position that me and my family have been put in.”
Attorney Simon Myerson, who is defending Din, called the blackmail attempt “spectacularly inept”.
He said: “It involved a new e-mail account to the same IP address as his home. There was no such video. The incident to which he made the threat did not occur. This was not a significant attempt to exhort any money. He is truly remorseful. This offence will not be repeated. The factors behind the offending, the gambling and mental health issues, are now in the open.”