Harry Redknapp faces new probe into transfer dealings
Tottenham manager likely to be questioned over offshore account.
Harry Redknapp is likely to face further questioning in the long-running investigation into football transfers this week.
The Tottenham Hotspur manager is expected to be interviewed by investigators from Revenue and Customs who have taken the lead in the inquiry from City of London Police.
The focus of the inquiry has shifted from allegations of fraud and money laundering to tax. There appears to be several areas to the investigation, involving different transfers, one of which is thought to be Peter Crouch’s move from Portsmouth to Aston Villa in 2002. The individuals in this deal appear not to agree on why money was paid to Redknapp. However, the questioning this week may be focused on other deals.
Portsmouth made a profit of about £2 million when Crouch moved to Villa Park. Redknapp has claimed that he was owed 10 per cent of the profit on the deal, under the terms of his contract as director of football. Money was paid into an offshore bank account in Monaco in Redknapp’s name by Milan Mandaric, the former Portsmouth chairman. It was later transferred to his HSBC account in the United Kingdom.
Mandaric claimed that the money was not part of a contractual bonus owed to Redknapp but a payment for a business investment. Peter Storrie, the Portsmouth chief executive, has said that Redknapp was paid 5 per cent of the profit through Portsmouth’s payroll but has no knowledge of any subsequent transaction between Redknapp and Mandaric. There are no suggestions of any wrongdoing over the payment.
Redknapp said: “The club paid me 5 per cent [for Crouch]. I went back to Milan because I had signed a new contract that said 5 per cent but I said, ‘No, when I signed Crouch it was 10 per cent’, and Milan said, ‘OK, Harry, I accept that’.
“Milan never had a bank account in England so he said, ‘The only way I can do it is from my American account and I will have to open an account for you in Monaco.’ I said, ‘I don’t want an account in Monaco, I just want it in England, I don’t want the money over there.’ I said [to Mandaric], ‘What about the tax?’ He said the tax had been paid in America. But just in case it wasn’t, when I transferred the money back, my accountants got straight on to the Revenue and told them the money was being transferred from Monaco. If there is a tax issue, they’re aware of it.”
Mandaric’s account appears different. He wrote to Quest, which was heading the Premier League’s investigation into football corruption, outlining the full details of the transaction. “It’s got nothing to do with bonuses,” he said. “Bonuses were paid from Portsmouth to their accounts in England. It was a certain investment for Harry in America and I helped him. It’s got nothing to do with the football club.”
Storrie said: “He [Harry] got paid — it was about £115,000, about 5 per cent of the net profit on Crouch and he had tax and National Insurance deducted by the company in the normal way.”
Seven figures from the game have been arrested during Operation Apprentice, which has been running since April 2007 at an estimated cost of more than £250,000. Redknapp was detained after a dawn raid on his home in 2007 and released on bail.
Redknapp dismissed rumours on Friday that he was to leave Tottenham.
"OI BLAHDY NEVER!!"
Tottenham manager likely to be questioned over offshore account.
Harry Redknapp is likely to face further questioning in the long-running investigation into football transfers this week.
The Tottenham Hotspur manager is expected to be interviewed by investigators from Revenue and Customs who have taken the lead in the inquiry from City of London Police.
The focus of the inquiry has shifted from allegations of fraud and money laundering to tax. There appears to be several areas to the investigation, involving different transfers, one of which is thought to be Peter Crouch’s move from Portsmouth to Aston Villa in 2002. The individuals in this deal appear not to agree on why money was paid to Redknapp. However, the questioning this week may be focused on other deals.
Portsmouth made a profit of about £2 million when Crouch moved to Villa Park. Redknapp has claimed that he was owed 10 per cent of the profit on the deal, under the terms of his contract as director of football. Money was paid into an offshore bank account in Monaco in Redknapp’s name by Milan Mandaric, the former Portsmouth chairman. It was later transferred to his HSBC account in the United Kingdom.
Mandaric claimed that the money was not part of a contractual bonus owed to Redknapp but a payment for a business investment. Peter Storrie, the Portsmouth chief executive, has said that Redknapp was paid 5 per cent of the profit through Portsmouth’s payroll but has no knowledge of any subsequent transaction between Redknapp and Mandaric. There are no suggestions of any wrongdoing over the payment.
Redknapp said: “The club paid me 5 per cent [for Crouch]. I went back to Milan because I had signed a new contract that said 5 per cent but I said, ‘No, when I signed Crouch it was 10 per cent’, and Milan said, ‘OK, Harry, I accept that’.
“Milan never had a bank account in England so he said, ‘The only way I can do it is from my American account and I will have to open an account for you in Monaco.’ I said, ‘I don’t want an account in Monaco, I just want it in England, I don’t want the money over there.’ I said [to Mandaric], ‘What about the tax?’ He said the tax had been paid in America. But just in case it wasn’t, when I transferred the money back, my accountants got straight on to the Revenue and told them the money was being transferred from Monaco. If there is a tax issue, they’re aware of it.”
Mandaric’s account appears different. He wrote to Quest, which was heading the Premier League’s investigation into football corruption, outlining the full details of the transaction. “It’s got nothing to do with bonuses,” he said. “Bonuses were paid from Portsmouth to their accounts in England. It was a certain investment for Harry in America and I helped him. It’s got nothing to do with the football club.”
Storrie said: “He [Harry] got paid — it was about £115,000, about 5 per cent of the net profit on Crouch and he had tax and National Insurance deducted by the company in the normal way.”
Seven figures from the game have been arrested during Operation Apprentice, which has been running since April 2007 at an estimated cost of more than £250,000. Redknapp was detained after a dawn raid on his home in 2007 and released on bail.
Redknapp dismissed rumours on Friday that he was to leave Tottenham.
"OI BLAHDY NEVER!!"