We've talked about the news surrounding Newcastle United's apparent takeover bid by a Singapore firm.

However, not all was as it seemed, with questions being raised by the firm's authenticity

Read more from this Straits Times excerpt!

Barely a week after it announced a sensational bid for English Premier League club Newcastle United, questions have surfaced about the Singapore-registered Bellagraph Nova Group (BN Group) behind the bid.

This comes after it admitted to doctoring photographs of former United States president Barack Obama in its publicity materials.

BN Group spokesman Nereides Antonio Giamundo de Bourbon was reported by Reuters yesterday as saying that the company had altered photos of Mr Obama to make them look as though he had attended a meeting with its executives in Paris.

In reality, the photos were taken at a charity gala event in Singapore last December sponsored by Novena Global Lifecare, founded by BN Group's co-founders.

The BN Group was co-founded by the two men, who are local entrepreneurs and former JP Morgan investment bankers, and Ms Evangeline Shen, a Chinese jewellery merchant and former Morgan Stanley banker.

10 Place Vendome, home to Ritz Paris hotel and luxury boutiques.

Reuters also said that while BN Group said it is headquartered in Paris, it found that no company called Bellagraph Nova Group is registered in France.

Reuters also did not find the company at the Paris address that was listed - 10 Place Vendome.

Mr de Bourbon told Reuters: "We are serious people... the only ambiguous thing has been the photoshop picture. There wasn't any malicious aim behind it."

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