Mandaric v Plod - Mockery news

[Dour]

MANDARIC - COURT PAPERS ALLEGE 'DISGUISED' PAYMENTS
BY PAUL CONROY

10:30 - 31 May 2008



More details have emerged of the allegations against Leicester City's owner Milan Mandaric .

The multi-millionaire was arrested in November last year, as part of a City of London Police investigation into corruption within football.

Now, details about the allegations being investigated have been revealed in court papers.



The allegations relate to when Mr Mandaric was owner and chairman of Portsmouth Football Club.

According to the court papers, the owner was suspected of conspiring with the club's manager, Harry Redknapp, and managing director, Peter Storrie, to disguise payments to a player, Amdy Faye.

It was alleged they may have passed the money through a third party, using football agent William McKay, to receive the money offshore.

All five men were arrested in November on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting, while the Leicester City owner was also suspected of money laundering.

They have all denied any wrongdoing and remain on police bail.

Mr Mandaric yesterday told the Mercury: "I am not very happy I was even involved by police.

"As far as I am concerned, I have done nothing wrong. I have done everything by the book."

The chairman said he only had knowledge of the actions of club officials and neither he, nor Mr Storrie nor Mr Redknapp, had done anything wrong.

Mr Mandaric said: "When I receive the money from a transfer fee or any money at all, what I am going to do with the money is my business. The same thing goes the other way round.

"I am quite sure when the investigation is finished we will be cleared."

The information about the investigation was revealed in a recently published judgement from a High Court case.

Lord Justice Latham, with Mr Justice Underhill, said: "It was suspected that (Mr Redknapp) as manager of the club, together with the managing director Peter Storrie, and the club's then owner and chairman Milan Mandaric may have conspired together to make disguised payments to a player, Amdy Faye, using the agent William McKay to receive payments offshore."

The judgement comes from a judicial review brought by Mr Redknapp over the police's search of his home.

The court ruled the search warrant was unlawful and ordered the force to pay £1,000 in damages to Mr Redknapp. According to the ruling, the police inquiries began in 2006, after information was obtained from the French authorities.

Portsmouth signed Faye from the French club Auxerre in 2005, for an undisclosed fee but the BBC reported it as being about £1.5 million.

The High Court judgement also revealed the police decided to arrest the five men due to contact between them about the inquiry.

The court document said: "To some extent, these decisions would appear to have been informed by the fact that the police suspected there to have been contact between the relevant individuals which had inhibited the police from obtaining all the information that they wished."

A City of London Police spokeswoman said: "We don't comment on on-going investigations."

Not really much new - still not sure what the money-laundering angle is.

 

[Real Sharapova]

Not really much new - still not sure what the money-laundering angle is.

If you conspire to avoid paying tax and/or NIC that is covered by the money laundering laws.

 

[Melton Fox]

If you conspire to avoid paying tax and/or NIC that is covered by the money laundering laws.

Is that what MM has done?

 

[fosseman]

It's all taking so long, I'd be surprised if MM ever appears in court. It would be interesting to see what happens to LCFC if he were found guilty!

 

[Real Sharapova]

Is that what MM has done?

If what is being alleged ( paying money to an agent to then pass on to the player, instead of paying it through PAYE ) then yes.

 

[Dour]

If you conspire to avoid paying tax and/or NIC that is covered by the money laundering laws.

OK, thanks.

So, my reading of this is that Plod are effectively claiming that Faye was thrown a bung. And because it was paid into an offshore account, and tax wasn't paid by Faye, it's money laundering. And for MM to be charged rather than Storrie, Plod presumably are alleging MM made the payment.

Would seem very difficult to make a convincing enough case to take to court, I'd have thought, even if all that had happened.