Guest Blog by Auldheid
When helping write up the previous blog on the matter of the (mis) commissioning by Harper Macleod, lawyers to the then SPL and current SPFL, of the Lord Nimmo Smith’s investigation into side letters arising from EBTs issued by Rangers FC from July 1999 (https://sfmarchive.privateland.net/an-honest-game-convince-us/ ) .
I had it in mind that only the SFA had something to hide as a result of their President Campbell Ogilvie being fully aware of the history and distinction between the two illegal Rangers Employee Benefit Trust (REBT ) ebts of wee tax case fame not declared to Harper Macleod and the more widely known Murray Group Management Remuneration Trust (MGMRT) Big Tax Case ebts which were declared and on which LNS focussed after (wrongly)treating both types as regular.
The idea that I think most bought into in terms of the registration matters LNS investigated was that no one in football except players with side letters had participated in those schemes and that football authority, both SFA and SPL were unaware of them until their existence became public in Feb 2012. This is when the Sun first published a side letter and the possibility of mis-registration was raised, notably on Celtic Quick News then more widely particularly following an interview between Alex Thomson of Ch4 News and Hugh Adam an ex Rangers Director.
However when you think of the world of Scottish football where players socialise with each other and with journalists, then it does seem stretching it a bit to think that no one in football authority ever heard any gossip or had any enquiry and decided not to investigate the matter before 2012.
Well Rangers Administrators Duff and Phelps thought so and their lawyers Biggart Bailie asked Harper Mcleod in March 2012 why the SPL had not investigated a lot earlier on the basis that
- There had been entries every year since 2000 in Rangers Annual Accounts of sums of money being placed in employee benefit trusts
- HMRC had written to the SPL at some unknown point in the past to ask about the existence of side letters in players’ contracts.
The first argument on annual accounts was one made once public awareness of ebts widened but it was dismissed on the grounds that no one knew much about ebts in those early years and in any case properly administered ones, which they would have been presumed to have been, did not have side letters.
However it does seem likely that having written to MIH/Rangers in 2005 to enquire about the existence of side letters to De Boer and Flo (which MIH/Rangers denied holding even though they did) HMRC would have written to the SFA or SPL sometime after 2005 whenever they first became aware of side letters in players contracts with regards to the MGRT ebts of Big Tax Case fame..
That the SPL had been contacted two or three years previous to 2012 by HMRC was confirmed at a SPL Board meeting in March 2012 as a result of a question being asked by Celtic, who were unaware in 2012 that such an HMRC enquiry had been made in 2009 or 2010. It is possible of course that the connection to misregistration was not made then by the SPL executive asked, but had it been history could have been so different.
How that HMRC enquiry and what it contained was handled by the SPL executive perhaps explains not only why the SPL were so keen to take the lead on the investigation but why they were unaware of the different types of ebts at play, the enquiry in 2009/2010 presumably relating only to the MGMRT type.
The motivation of the SPL executive can be read into their advice to the SPL Board on 23rd February 2012 to instruct an immediate inspection and investigation of the financial records of Rangers with respect to the ebt payments under SPL Rule F1 and under Section G of the Rules on the basis that such an inspection and investigation might reveal prima facie evidence of a breach of SPL Rules independently of any Administrator decision or the outcome of the FTT.
The SPL Board were further advised that taking the lead on such grounds would also go some way to forestalling any attempt by the SFA to include any dependency on the outcome of either Rangers Administration (which they entered on 14th February) or the result of the FTT, (which came in November 2012.)
The desire and benefits of delinking what was at heart a registration enquiry from the much more serious use of tax evasion methods to pay players was obviously not lost on those giving the advice.
In fact in directing LNS in the way the SPL did (possibly unaware that tax evasion had already occurred with Flo and De Boer) it avoided focus on the real and still unresolved issue, were players paid by unfair means from 1999 from which sporting advantage would naturally accrue with no need for proof that it had. You cannot say this had not been thought through in the advice given.
It was also the SPL’ stance that matters concerning player payments had traditionally been considered to be for leagues.
The narrative emerging here is one of the two football authorities keeping from public gaze what individuals in both, if not the whole organisations corporately, knew about the history of ebts; the SFA knowing the history of both types from 1999/2000 onwards and the SPL possibly only knowing something of the MGMRT ebts and side letters from 2009/10 as a result of HMRC asking them questions.
Thus it suited the SFA that the SPL take the lead as much as it suited the SPL to do so but for different reasons. The SFA to keep the existence of the wee tax case ebts hidden from public view and LNS scrutiny and the SPL to avoid answering any “when did they know and why did they not act” questions.
Also if the SPL were indeed unaware of the two distinct types of ebts at play (and they may indeed have been), it explains why they never picked up that the earlier illegal ebts were missed/concealed from them by Rangers Administrators.
Perhaps the SPL and SFA were aware of the benefits to them of focusing only on the registration aspect. This could be presented as an administrative error (which LNS basically decided) rather than the possible illegal nature of the big tax case ebts after the FTT (and which might still arise from the UTT) which would present both with much more difficult and unwelcome consequences to manage and certainly would have changed the nature of the investigation from the outset had the full evidence been provided.
However unless the questions put to the SPFL in the previous blog are answered, we will never know who did what and why, but we at least will know that the LNS Investigation and its findings were a sham from the outset and should be set aside.
Perhaps BDO who are investigating the role and behaviour of Duff and Phelps according to the latest report on their work should be asking Duff and Phelps about the circumstances surrounding the concealment of vital evidence from the LNS Commission?
Och why not?
To the BDO partner investigating. Dated 9th June by web site e mail
“ I see that BDO are carrying out a probe into the conduct of administrators Duff & Phelps. Does that cover the failure to supply SPL with full documentation requested to investigate side letters in 2012?
See http://www.tsfm.net/an-honest-game-convince-us/ for background. Missing evidence is available. ”
PS: I did try to ascertain if HMRC did indeed write to the SPL and when, but they were unable to confirm or deny that they had. The enquiry and response follow. The question on who is responsible for HMRC policy in respect of collection of tax from football clubs was not given but probably due more to an oversight than any attempt to stop the question being answered.
Barcabhoy says:
July 7, 2014 at 5:42 pm
———-
Great summary Barca. Who says it’s not worth going over old ground?
jean7brodie says:
July 7, 2014 at 9:07 pm
Carfins Finest says:
July 7, 2014 at 8:55 pm
————————————————-
Well said CF. I would have given you a TU if it was possible!
==========
Thank you Jean. You were right. Barcaboy really made his post easy to read and understand.
We are way past the point of no return
The Bears criteria is success on the park against their deadly rivals
Nothing else
That prospect needs to be redefined as keeping the league race alive beyond Christmas
It wont be until Celtic achieve 10 or 15 in a row
By then a new generation of fans will be calling the shots
The future is one of perpetual penury
Dire matches peppered by the odd excellent performance
Victories written up as turning points by apprentice journalists
There is no great white hope lurking in the shadows
Nobody champing at the bit to replace bottom feeding Spivs
Nope
The future is one of regular humpings by 2 or 3 top 6 teams and at least 3 humiliations by their deadly rivals year on year
The Bears will walk away quietly
It wont happen overnight
Crowds will drift away until 15k to 25k becomes the norm
But even this healthy attendance wont be enough to pay the Spivs
So they will be forced to downsize quality yet again
Until TRFC settle down as a mostly also ran celebrating the occasional cup win as a real achievement
Even Celtic fans will get turned off
Thumping a useless TRFC team will soon become less satisfying than beating the team in second place
Nope
Its over
Great reminder barcabhoy of how truthfully openly sick this club and its dodgy connections are . Included in this are the compliant sfa and smsm, truth hurts and it will prevail I will feel no pain as all I want is my club and all other clubs to be equal in the eyes if the sfa. If not then they have to go as there is more of us than them,football without fans is nothing and the govan club, sfa and the smsm mean absolutely nothing to me. I am sure I am not alone in this thought.
Valentines clown I agree with much of what you said. I too would like to see my club treated nothing but equally in the eyes of the SFA, also the SPFL, the SMSM and TSFM. Unfortunately for many reasons related to the cloud hanging over Ibrox detailed in posts here over the last few hours I fear we are a long way from that happening. Bear in mind that while there are many Scottish football fans angry at decisions regarding Rangers, there are also many Rangers fans who are also angry at the treatment of their club, precisely because “favourable” reporting of certain sides of the tale by the SMSM and certain decisions made by the SFA do not help but actually hinder Rangers from evolving into a well run club.
sickofitall says:
July 7, 2014 at 8:57 pm
I understand he is on holiday.
Seems to be some rumblings re UTT on twitter,
Retweeted by JLeeHooker
keith jackson @tedermeatballs 8m
I was savaged for saying the BTC was a red herring where the demise of RFC was concerned. I hear we’ll find out very soon if i was right.
Jonny McFarlanegripnripCFC 1888scoabydan kennedyJLeeHookerRobert Ryan
3:36 PM – 7 Jul 2014 · Details
Tweet text
BMC Rangers Rants @BMCRangersRants 7m
@tedermeatballs would be great if I knew what you actually meant here.
andrew @andrew06251008 6m
@tedermeatballs big tax case
Mr Green & White! @PJGreenandwhite 6m
@tedermeatballs boom Doherty a either referred back unlikely b boom it’s an illegal scheme most likely c rejected flabbergasted!
gerry moran @gerry_moran 5m
@tedermeatballs are you hearing the rumour that HMRC lost the appeal..seems that is gaining steam ?
johnronnie43 @johnronnie42 5m
@tedermeatballs is it out soon keith
Aquinas I strongly disagree. If the SFA, as alluded to in previous posts this evening, had said “our way or no license”, a lot of the financial complications which have hurt Rangers over the last two years could have been avoided.
I have only just got sat down at my pc to update myself, and have read Barcabhoy’s brilliant analysis.
It is far from being a mere summary. It is a reasoned assemblage of known facts which the SFA in particular clearly decided not to pursue diligently . Had they done so, and they ought to have done so, they would have been compelled , on the basis of those facts, to refuse point blank to have CG’s new club admitted to SFA membership.
Justshatered’s post on the SPL’s readiness to accept the new club into the bottom tier and thus give them ‘entitlement ‘ to SFA membership attaches blame to the other clubs.And, indeed,blame there is.
But, to my mind, it is the shadowy forces controlling Regan and Doncaster – the men upon whose advice and knowledge of the the Articles and Rules of both organsiations all clubs depend- who have to be identified as the real baddies.
This is not to say that the two CEOs are guilt free. Far from it. But they were not the absolute masters.
They had been given the word: the club must be saved in every respect-continuity of history on the one hand, no liability for the big debts on the other. And they came up with the wonderful 5-way agreement, using every dirty bullying trick in the book (including cries of ‘Armageddon’ and ‘Civil unrest’) and, it would appear, a wholly deliberate misuse of the ‘independent tribunal’ system to ensure that the voice of the master prevailed.
If they had expended on even a superficial examination of the true situation a fraction of the energy they spent in ‘saving’ the club, they would have protected the integrity of our game, and their own personal integrity.
And, as justshatered remarks, the ‘word’ clearly got out to the SMSM that the club was not dead, but lived on, with all its titles and trophies newly burnished bright, ‘as it made new friends in the wider football community.’ And didn’t the spineless, self-contradictory truth-distorting propaganda Pravda types just love it-and have loved it since!
But Truth will out-as it will in another sphere relating to things in the past in which many an elderly upper-tier politician will be taking a close and anxious interest.
Admission from RIFC re Stockbridge shares “omission”!
Front page https://twitter.com/Daily_Record/status/486268452840026114
Back page https://twitter.com/Daily_Record/status/486268732562350082/photo/1
KJ won’t be tweeting anything unless he knows the result, looks like HMRC may have lost the case. 😕
In my defence of the SFA still being biased towards the team at Ibrox, a footballer playing in a game bets against the team he us playing for and receives a 3 match ban! The SFA has many parts, as you probably know, and many parts are rotten to the core, separation from the SFA would be a good start.
KJ also of the opinion that today’s statement from RIFC is important:
Why?
keith jackson @tedermeatballs 8m
I was savaged for saying the BTC was a red herring where the demise of RFC was concerned. I hear we’ll find out very soon if i was right.
Regarding the above tweet; who ‘savaged’ him for saying the BTC did not cause the demise of RFC?
We all knew that anyway.
And why would the result of the appeal make him ‘right’?
RFC went to the wall because they didn’t pay their taxes and owed HMRC some £4m from, not the Big Tax Case, but the wee one!
Whether HMRC had won the case or not, RFC would still have perished.
Sergio biscuits, while your analysis is factually correct, it does not consider the impact on Rangers’ business and the hindrance to any required fundraising caused by the spectre of the big tax case hanging over them. It may or may not have made a difference, but we can’t know that for sure. Of course, we can know for sure that if Rangers had never engaged in suspect tax avoidance / evasion practises then it would be a moot point.
Charles is in Chateau Cordey, and a bright spark on twitter discovered that Brian has started IFSA. Closing paragraphs say it all:
http://internationalfsa.com
RyanGosling says:
July 8, 2014 at 12:28 am
Ryan,
There’s no doubt that the chance of the BTC going against the club would have had an impact when it came to fundraising, but at the same time HMRC would not have rejected the CVA on the off chance that they might win the case. They rejected it because of the money Rangers did owe them and couldn’t pay back.
One thing I have never understood is why no players were sold to pay the tax off; Murray knew about the tax liability and so did Whyte, but they did nothing. Indeed Rangers instead gave a number of players improved contracts. There was no attempt made to settle the bill when it could have been done quite easily. I didn’t understand it then and I still don’t now.
Sergio that makes two of us. I don’t understand it either.
ForresDee says:
July 8, 2014 at 12:03 am
KJ won’t be tweeting anything unless he knows the result, looks like HMRC may have lost the case. 😕
==========================
FD, don’t be so sure…
Multiple award-winning Keef has previous on writing “off the radar” whoppers, and printed for posterity. 😉
Sergio Biscuits says:
July 8, 2014 at 12:24 am
keith jackson @tedermeatballs 8m
I was savaged for saying the BTC was a red herring where the demise of RFC was concerned. I hear we’ll find out very soon if i was right.
Regarding the above tweet; who ‘savaged’ him for saying the BTC did not cause the demise of RFC?
We all knew that anyway.
And why would the result of the appeal make him ‘right’?
RFC went to the wall because they didn’t pay their taxes and owed HMRC some £4m from, not the Big Tax Case, but the wee one!
Whether HMRC had won the case or not, RFC would still have perished.
=======================================
Although they went to the wall because the did not pay their taxes in 2011/12 of which the wtc was a part, the underlying reason they went to the wall was their total dependence on CL money to make their business plan work.
They embarked on this path in 2007 with the arrival of Walter Smith when they spent big, raised debt from £6M to £31M, reducing it to £18M with CL winnings by 2011 and the BTC, because of Rangers secrecy surrounding side letters looking to the layman that Rangers had something to hide so HMRC would win, as well as what MIH owed them, made Lloyds want to bail out..
However even when they did and SDM sold to CW, they still would have been able to pay HMRC the PAYE/NI and wtc bill had they not gone out to Malmo.
Their business model was risky and their refusal to reduce player wages to allow for CL failure is ultimately what caught them out. That total dependency on CL money also compromised our game in that every on field decision that favoured them was seen against that dependency background whether it was an honest decision or not.
Rescuing them compromised the SFA and as Ryan rightly says dodgy ebts should never have been contemplated and would not have been had there been some ethics at play.
The wee tax case will remain unlawful tax evasion regardless of the BTC. I believe it was the behaviour at the WTC and hiding the De Boer/Flo side letters from HMRC that convinced HMRC they had a case to pursue.
If HMRC have lost the UTT, the behaviour surrounding the wee tax case must not have been considered or was discounted or inadmissible or invisible.
Auldheid- a very good post I thought.
With regards to HMRC is it not the case that the BTC and WTC are completely separate, i.e. The WTC had nothing to do with the UTT? Happy to be corrected if inaccurate, but I was under the impression that all connected parties accepted that Rangers had been taking the piss with the WTC and owed money on it, whereas the BTC was more of a grey area.
What you say on the flawed business model however is indisputable, and worryingly seems to have been adopted by every Rangers office holder since. “It’ll all be fine once we are in the Champions League”. No, Graham, it won’t.
RyanGosling says:
July 8, 2014 at 1:45 am
What you say on the flawed business model however is indisputable, and worryingly seems to have been adopted by every Rangers office holder since. “It’ll all be fine once we are in the Champions League”. No, Graham, it won’t.
============================================
I have to say the repeated view from Ibrox that they will definitely be back in the Champions League soon causes me some concern. No club, including the one I support, can honestly make such a statement with any certainty. As Auldheid said in another post, the fact Rangers NEEDED to be in the CL in Walter Smiths second term made every decision suspicious, even if honestly made. There is only one shot at the CL for a Scottish team. Why do Rangers seem to think it will automatically be them that gets it?
“And though they could not produce the gun
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all white jury agreed
Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder “One” guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
***And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride***
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool’s hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed
To live in a land where justice is a game”
Been on holiday so scan/lurking and trying to catch up.
As I understand it the Union of Fans appear to have said the King /Gough backed scheme is up the spout.
Yet we were told the following by Keef
Dave King insist he’ll not give up fight for Rangers until he has keys to Ibrox in his hands.. no matter the cost
Mar 25, 2014 08:02 By Keith Jackson
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/dave-king-insist-hell-not-3279689
Have I missed the follow up story on where King is, why he seems to be so silent and what is plans are next being he has yet to obtain the keys he so desired?
I also noted that the last of the high profile ‘Rangers men’, Souness, threw in his meaningless tuppence worth the other week.
As I said way back when, when will the Bears realize that while they may see themselves as a great institution, it is a mere figment of their imagination in this modern world. There are no real ‘Rangers men’ out there with enough cash to do anything. Guys like McColl and Brian Kennedy only have a passing sympathy for the state of things down Govan way and won’t part with any of their own cash. SDM didn’t really part with any of his own cash, it was all ducking & diving and robbing Peter to pay Paul stuff.
No one else from the business world is really interested in their fate unless they can take money out of Ibrox. Wallace’s exorbitant £315k salary with alleged 100% bonus makes him no better than any of the other Spivs who have passed up the marble staircase in recent years.
Letham looks like he is the latest line of guys with a spare bit of cash and ‘MUG’ tattooed on his forehead to be taken for a ride.
King was the fans last hope but he is hiding in Campbell Ogilvie’s cave.
So what now for the fans?
The Union of Fans are still asking people to pay into the Spivbank a game at a time, therefore the money is still going to…………….well the Spivbank and of course they still hold all the assets.
The only option for fans now is to not turn up and look to form a new club moulded in a fashion that suits their needs.
However the Spiv have played the game well and aided and abetted by the MSM and the football authorities have worked the con of just promising that financial and footballing nirvana is just around the corner.
It seems to me the addicts will just keep turning up hoping for that the next hit will be as good as that first one. However as we know chasing such dreams can often end up in disappointment and an altered state of reality can end up with you becoming a mere shadow of your former self, loosing all of your friends and your dignity.
Morning. Seems KJ has heard something concrete.
Rumours appear to be gathering that the UTTT decision will be published in the next 24 – 48 hours. It may be worth keeping an eye on: http://www.tribunals.gov.uk/financeandtax/Decisions.htm
F5 Tuesday?
Auldheid says:
July 8, 2014 at 1:05 am
… The wee tax case will remain unlawful tax evasion regardless of the BTC. I believe it was the behaviour at the WTC and hiding the De Boer/Flo side letters from HMRC that convinced HMRC they had a case to pursue.
If HMRC have lost the UTT, the behaviour surrounding the wee tax case must not have been considered or was discounted or inadmissible or invisible.
——–
If I remember correctly John Clark’s most recent court reports did very much convey the impression that HMRC were underwhelming in the presentation of their case.
If this is another failure for HMRC, as KJ seems to be inferring with his ‘phantom’ reference, and the WTC and De Boer/Flo evidence has not been considered, then what? Can they broaden the terms of reference for a final appeal? Or is it back to the drawing board to start over?
Ryangosling.
Sorry, The SFA may have said our way or no licence, have you forgotten how TRangers reacted everytime things werent going their way, families were put in safe houses! And being advised by counter terrorist personel, and TRangers new this.
The SFA harmed TRangers in the same way you could say Police Scotland could harm an alchoholic by not preventing them from stealing whisky.
TRangers need to want to change, until then its still self harm and poison to the football family.
Ryan, you are going to have to help me with this. Why exactly are the Rangers fans angry at the treatment of their club by the SFA? The SFA have strained every muscle and bent every rule, used threats and blackmail on the wee clubs, just to ensure that the Rangers fans still have a club to follow in senior football. So what’s the complaint?
Or are Rangers fans like spoilt children, no matter what is done for them or whatever is given to them, it’s never, ever enough? My approach with spoilt brats is to give them nothing- it works a treat. And nothing is precisely what Rangers should have received from the SFA- SFA in fact. Certainly no admission of Sevco to the SFL or the SFA. Since the spoilt brats were always going to complain anyway, the SFA would have lost nothing and gained some respect. As it is, they have destroyed any respect for themselves, and had to deal with the nauseating whining anyway.
Ryan Gosling
The wtc and BTC are separate.
The wtc was found to be unlawful for Aberdeen Asset Management after going through an FTT and UTT.
Rangers used it for De Boer and Flo, had side letters for them, did not register them with SFA and hid their existence from HMRC when asked and possibly from HMRC inspectors who looked at the players files. The latter is what HMRC believe as well as proof of the former.
All this in turn was hidden from the LNS Commission in spite of the SPL lawyers asking for all ebt documentation since 1998.
On the wee tax case guilt was admitted on QC advice but LNS treated both types of ebts as lawful in his decision. This flies in the face of fact but his Lordship was misled both in the evidence supplied and the testimony given.
I think folk confuse the five BTC instances where liability was admitted in the FTT for bonus payments made using ebts (as opposed to regular pay) with the wtc.
Rangers admitted guilt in 5 cases in the BTC and in 2 cases in the wtc based on the Aberdeen Asset Management precedent and hiding the evidence.
In totality – morally bankrupt and legally guilty in 7 cases as well as subsequent efforts to bury this truth.
wottpi says:
July 8, 2014 at 8:35 am
“makes him no better than any of the other Spivs who have passed up the marble staircase in recent years.”
I read that as “pissed” and that’s WITH new glasses! 🙄 😀
Anyone with any doubts about Super Salary’s credentials as a football manager need only read the BBC article about Jon Daly succumbing to a niggling knee injury and due to surgery will miss the first 6 weeks of the new season.
“Towards the end of the season, we would have given him a little rest if we could have but personnel indicated we couldn’t,” explained McCoist.
“With Andy Little injured, he was our only striker at points and to be fair to him, he kept turning up and playing for us.
Really?
The league was won by a million points and there was cover in experience pros and youngsters alike (Elbows, Shiels, Clark, Aird, Gallagher)
The guy is a logic bypass centre (TM)
I always thought a good story had to have a beginning a middle and an end, for a basic read anyhooo.
Not so today in MSM, we have the beginning: ‘Rangers’ admit presenting inaccurate accounts to the Stock Exchange. safarisogoody (if your 40+).
Middle:£215,000 for £7,000 details, blah blah, company secretary signs off accounts where his bonus is ‘forgotten’. not to bad..
Where’s the end? I would have thought it would start with, The Stock Exchange may proceed with one of the following actions on ‘Rangers’, but no, nada not a thing………..anybody? Am I looking in the wrong places?
Barcabhoy says:
July 7, 2014 at 5:42 pm
==================================
Barca – excellent piece.
The SFA have done the bears no favours at all in the long run – just opened the doors to parasites and crooks. Part of my fascination is that my own team has had great support through thick and thin but even with honest ownership and determined, skilled staff over decades success was hard to come by. Recent years have shown that it takes a solid plan, good people, and hundreds of £mil to propel a team from mid/lower EPL table into genuine Euro contention. Yet despite the infestation at Ibrox, the MSM and the bears still want to believe they will romp to Euro success and riches. Unbelievable, beyond denial and beyond gullible. A tough lesson in life can’t be too far away.
Keep up the great work 🙂
It is inconsistencies that make us think we are being misled by the SFA. If only they would start to engage and explain the inconsistency we could all go home.
For example this is what Regan said in defence of Campbell Ogilvie in June 2012 and on the legality of ebts.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/324964/Regan-backs-Ogilvie-over-EBT-scandal
“We are all aware of businesses being run where you have one owner and operator running the club and a number of directors sitting below. The way this process has been managed, a lot of this correspondence was done much higher up the chain than Campbell Ogilvie.
“He has been fully up front with the SFA board in terms of his involvement. We are satisfied at the moment that this is not an issue for the board to act on. Since February 14 he has had no involvement at all in any board meetings, any decisions or any meetings with the club.
“There has been no involvement from him and, as far as we are concerned, he has done everything he could do to separate himself away from this issue. Let’s not forget that EBTs are not illegal.
“They are illegal if they are used knowingly in an incorrect manner. That is something we are still waiting for facts on. But I am satisfied that Campbell has discharged his duty of care. He has done everything we could have asked of him and, so far as his integrity is concerned, he is a man with many years as a highly respected administrator across the game of football in Scotland.”
That is June 2012 and yet from Dec 2011 in a draft letter submitted to Rangers about the UEFA licence Regan mentions the Discount Option Scheme
“All the recorded payroll taxes at 31 December 2010 have, according to the accounting records of the Club since that date been paid in full by 31 March 2011, with the exception of the continuing discussion between the Club and HM Revenue and Customs in relation to a potential* liability of £2.8m associated with contributions between 1999 and 2003 into a discounted option scheme.
(* note it was an actual liability from 1st Apr 2011 )
So the question is were Mr Regan and others at the SFA or with positions in the SFA and at RFC aware that by Dec 2011, the Discount Option Scheme was illegal precisely because it had been used knowingly in an incorrect manner, the very reason why the wee tax bill was issued that itself caused Regan to produce the draft letter (never issued after Rangers objected) and if they were why did he make the statement above about ebts not being illegal in 2012 given he had the person who started the DOS ones in the same building?
Why was the illegal nature of these DOS ebts not made known to the SPL lawyers in March/April 2012 by the SFA?
WRT to the incorrect information being posted by The Rangers in relation to the shares issued, and convertable options, would this information originally have been provided by BS in his role as financial high heid yin, and I imagine, Deloittes and the Nomads informed. Thus effectively stating that he was owed not a copper penny, never mind a bucket load of penny shares.
I have a strong suspicion that this AIM Disciplinary Notice issued in May relates to RIFC PLC.
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/companies-and-advisors/aim/advisers/aim-notices/ad12.pdf
RIFC will have been desperate to anonymise a regulation breach for non disclosure of related party transactions.
HULLBHOY
RIFC will have been desperate to anonymise a regulation breach for non disclosure of related party transactions.
————————————————————————————————————
An interesting spot, and may well be related to them. But it beggars belief, that if it was BS who provided the original info, why would they “honour” his contract, when he himself actively ignored its existence, as head of finance. I find it hard to believe that he would overlook his own £200K+ remuneration package.
What a man does not say . . .
. . . is so often more telling that what he does say.
So while Mr McCoist fills headlines on rangers.co.uk for his stunning 1-1 victory over Brora, Mr Wallace prefers to make curt statutory announcement to AIM recorded only deep under ground at http://www.rangersinternationalfootballclub.com/regulatory-announcements
Mr Wallace, you may not have started as a spiv but your recent behaviour looks indistinguishable from that of a spiv. Come out, come out, wherever you are, prove otherwise and I’ll be the first to apologise.
Corrupt official says:
July 8, 2014 at 3:02 pm
HULLBHOY
RIFC will have been desperate to anonymise a regulation breach for non disclosure of related party transactions.
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An interesting spot, and may well be related to them. But it beggars belief, that if it was BS who provided the original info, why would they “honour” his contract, when he himself actively ignored its existence, as head of finance. I find it hard to believe that he would overlook his own £200K+ remuneration package.
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Who are “they?” You appear to be under the misapprehension that “they” have the club’s best footballing and commercial interests at heart. “They” ARE the club, thus whilst they do have the Clubs interests at heart, it is merely as a money collection and distribution enterprise. Footballing participation remains compulsory, as the focal point for that cash, like a light bulb is to moths. It is the balance between investment and return (diddies versus expensive starlets) that is key to that equation short, medium and longer term.
SMUGAS
Who are “they?”
I agree with your point entirely with regards to “they” paying “them, or BS.”
In a way, that was my point. If BS provided the info, then “They” had a very good escape hatch to refuse payment. “They” chose not to !
The fact “they” never speaks volumes.
Hopefully for general consumption rather than the Bonkers OCNC thread….
Interesting quote this weekend from Colin Kolles who is fronting up the Caterham F1 team after it was sold by Tony Fernandes (of QPR fame) :
“”This is a Malaysian company, running under a Malaysian flag currently,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the Romanian project. It’s difficult to change the name and to change a company which is registered in Malaysia and bring it to Romania. This company (1Malaysia Racing Team) has the entry and you cannot transfer this. If that company no longer exists you lose the entry. The entry is related not to a name but a company number.”
Now isn’t that concept an interesting one….so if a company goes into liquidation and eventually no longer exists….anything following is obviously a new entity that would have to apply for entry…..isn’t that what happened in recent years in Scotland?
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
Red Lichtie, spot on. RFC 1872-2012. Co.No SC004276. TRFC 2012- date. Co, No SC425159. Brand new and just out the wrappers. Apologies if oc/nc
If money keeps going in – the ongoing embarrassments will continue
Indefinitely IMO
PR, Accountants, MSM, `Inquiries`, et al – Any trust evaporated – reality; [International interweb], a Laughing Stock!
Evidence? – Every Day of the year – for Years
Brazil seem to have upset FIFA
ARG and HOL need to hone skills in keeping traps shut better than the comp
Seems ALL supporters’ exploitation – is the real sport
Strange feelings tonight,sad, but glad.
Danish Pastry says:
July 8, 2014 at 8:36 am
“… i always suspected it to be a phantom bill…”
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How very insightful of Mr. Jackson. If only his predictive powers could have been employed to effectively assuage the concerns of potential investors in the new club/company they might not be in the predicament they currently find themselves in. Certainly the fear of HMRC’s retribution was sufficient to scare off (S)DM’s backers and Lloyd’s Bank.
Murray took a gamble that might prove to be a winner. Unfortunately in the process of being right he has sunk the clumpany for which he professed undying loyalty. Where did it all go wrong?
Keef might go on now to explain why it was decided to keep the side letters confidential. If the scheme proves legal then as Lord Nimmo Smith has stated such an administrative error was unnecessary.
So good news, Murray Group may have successfully fended off HMRC’s appeal to the FTT result. Its a pity for Rangers that the damage has already been done.
At least they’ll be able to salvage their dignity from the debacle!
Hullbhoy and others re ‘incorrect’ statement in RIFC Annual report:
I sent the following email yesterday. Not yet had a reply.
“Dear AIM Regulation,
This vexed company (Rangers International FC plc) keeps throwing up matters of concern to me, and, presumably, to many others.
What am I make of this, for instance:
“Mon 07 Jul 2014 16:55
RNS Number : 6537L
Rangers Int. Football Club PLC
07 July 2014
Rangers International Football Club plc
(“Rangers” the “Club” or the “Company”)
Statement re: Annual results for the 13 month period ended 30 June 2013
The Directors confirm that following the issue of shares announced on 1 July 2014 pursuant to the exercise of options by a former Director, there are now no outstanding share options or convertible shares held within the Group. The Directors note that Note 30 to the accounts for the 13 month period ended 30 June 2013 was incorrect to the extent that the options to which the share announcement on 1 July 2014 relate were not included.
For further information please contact:
Rangers International Football Club plc
Graham Wallace
Tel: 0141 580 8647 ”
Just what the devil is that Board all about, I ask myself? An incorrect and misleading Note 30 to their long-awaited Annual results report!
They appear to have a very cavalier attitude to their responsibilities as Directors of a PLC.
And a very sleekit approach to announcing any error- 4.55 pm .
I hope AIM has a close look at this Board’s puzzling behaviour.
Yours sincerely,
JC
JC I was thinking again about your novel suggestion about obtaining Counsel’s opinion on the alleged [ 🙄 ] negligent behaviour of the SFA.
Thinking of cheaper, maybe more provocative options which at the very least will help inform non-Bampots…
IIRC, there are large billboard signs near the entrance to Hampden, off Cathcart Road ?
What if we could rent a large billboard with the simple message in big letters;
“Is the SFA corrupt ?”
The footer could include:”Public information service provided by http://www.tsfm.net”
1) It’s a question, not a statement of fact. 😉
2) If pushed, it is related to an SFA member club chairman’s public comments on June 22, 2012;
‘….But the big problem for them is that fans are now saying: “Scottish football is corrupt. Why should I waste my hard-earned money on it?…”
And as the ultimate governing body for Scottish football, the SFA did not challenge this public statement at the time.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2163489/Fans-fight-SFA-warned-expect-small-clubs-bow-down.html
3) Would an advertising company accept such an advert?
Well they have certainly accepted provocative, critical adverts before – especially from political parties.
Possible reactions
===============
1) SFA – no comment, [at least initially].
2) MSM – will probably look the other way.
3) Non-Internet Bampots – passing the billboard on buses, in cars they will be wanting to know what this is all about. It might start some informative discussions at the workplace. It might lead folks to check out the TSFM site for the first time – and perhaps join the discussions with new info ?
4) All Scottish football fans – would probably enjoy the SFA CEO & President embarrassment at having to drive into Hampden each day past such an advert. It could also reinforce the message that the majority of fans – including TRFC fans – are deeply dissatisfied with the way in which the SFA operates.
5) Member clubs will get a reminder that the paying customers are dissatisfied with the SFA.
Anyway, just a potentially cheaper/no downside [?] suggestion – which may now get shot down in flames from fellow Bampots ?
John Clark says:
July 9, 2014 at 12:29 am
They appear to have a very cavalier attitude to their responsibilities as Directors of a PLC.
And a very sleekit approach to announcing any error- 4.55 pm .
sleekit ……
They may have to look that up 😉
Must be slow at the DR this week they have put out predictable headlines on two of Celtic biggest assets moving to half a dozen clubs(albeit lowering their valuation to £6m a piece which is a joke of course). Del Piero to Celtic, carrying on from Cowie to rangers thru the weekend. January and the close season allows for easy paper column filling on the sports pages at the DR. No doubt they will have the Keef excusive if either player does move.
JimBhoy says:
July 9, 2014 at 7:55 am
3 0 Rate This
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True, after the first couple you could see it could get embarrassing, which it did.
A bit of karma on Brazil though. The unholy alliance of ‘spivio’ agents and national team managers/selectors which led to all sorts of players being given a cap, merely in order to increase their sell-on value to naive European clubs, has come back to bite them on the arse. The series of pathetic dives betrayed their true level. It’s Armagedonio.
Castofthousands says:
July 8, 2014 at 11:25 pm
11 1 Rate This
… At least they’ll be able to salvage their dignity from the debacle!
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Well, as much dignity as they can have after tasking England’s Huge Hefner wannabe, Paul B-W, with planning their tax strategy (cue Benny Hill theme tune 😉 )
Apologies to ‘Hugh’ Hefner for the above and what appears to be a Freudian slip. It was, in fact, a malapropism.
@Danisy pastry yeah that brazillian policy was Scheidt..!!
mcfc says:
July 9, 2014 at 9:10 am
1 0 Rate This
Seven – One
It interests me that so many commentators are saying “What’s wrong with Brazil?” and not “What are Germany doing right?” and more to the point “What can we learn from Germany?” and specifically “What can England learn from Germany?”. I can promise you, you will not be hearing that last comment from Roy or Greg – ever. – and therein lies the problem. Objective analysis and incremental improvements are not in English football DNA. it’s all about “world-class” players. The best manager England could get at the moment is Dave Brailsford, who’s “marginal gains” approach could get England up to the level of Cost Rica and Chile within a few years – and maybe up to Germany’s level within a few World Cups. Well – we can all dream, can’t we?
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I’ve been telling friends for 4 or 5 years that Germany is the model England should copy. Not Spain, Brazil or anyone else. Look to Germany. Similar types of players. Germany play a team game and it usually trumps individualism.
However, can we really say that any current England international football players have the intelligence to play this sort of football? I really doubt that they do. Players like Sheringham and Scholes had this in the past but where are the equivalents now? Its something they seem to fail to be developing in their players.
@MCFC Too much pressure to stay in the EPL will mean that most of the larger English teams will be buyers and not developers. The big English teams, it could be argued, are making OTHER national teams stronger. Not many of the stronger European leagues are willing to take young English talent as they 1, Can produce their own in proper fashion and 2. Probably can’t afford their inflated sals even at an early age.Just my opinion.
While the rest of the football world is still marvelling and talking about what we witnessed last night, over in the Den they’re concerned about their plans for the sash bash in Derby and what songs the DJ should play pre-match at Ibrox.
Not a mention of events in Belo Horizonte.
That, for me, suggests the essential difference between them and rest of the footballing fraternity to be found here and elsewhere.
Parochial doesn’t really sum it up.
@Mungoboy not to mention the comments about their top scorer from last year who is injured having played thru the pain barrier for them apparently the back end of last season because the manager couldn’t find another striker in his 45 man squad to play against those who delivered their mail. The loyal…!!
JimBhoy says:
July 9, 2014 at 10:02 am
@MCFC Too much pressure to stay in the EPL will mean that most of the larger English teams will be buyers and not developers. The big English teams, it could be argued, are making OTHER national teams stronger. Not many of the stronger European leagues are willing to take young English talent as they 1, Can produce their own in proper fashion and 2. Probably can’t afford their inflated sals even at an early age.Just my opinion.
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Yes – agree on every point – so England has to play the hand it has dealt itself. For too long it has done this very poorly. The days when we could play the Arsenal back four, Liverpool up-front and a few quality players from ManU / Chelsea / Spurs elsewhere are long gone and are never coming back. If this World Cup has shown anything it is that football is a TEAM game – organization, solid-skills, team work and work rate can overpower reliance on “world-class” superstars. Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Australia all did much better than England with players that would – on paper – never get near St George’s Park. We simply need to design a system and find players to play that system with skill and intelligence. Roy – the players you need for a German-like system may not be in the EPL.
Re Germany:
I get the impression from what I hear on the ITV / BBC commentary and studio that by definition any pro-Germany comment would be immediately deemed anti-England. If Klose was Brazilian or Argentinian or Spanish he would be considered almost “god-like” but since he’s German his considerable scoring skills can be ignored, minimised or ridiculed. In the last 4 World Cup Finals (2002-2014) England have scored 17 goals and Klose has scored 16. Heard that on the BBC or ITV yet? Doubt it.
I was swithering about going to Dortmund for the qualifier in September. I didn’t want to be seen to be funding the SFA. Now I am very much looking forward to the match to see how well Scotland can contend with the World Cup champions-in-waiting.
Cowanpete- Gary Lineker mentioned in a previous programme that Klose and Muller combined had scored 24 goals between them (at the time) compared to England’s 17 at the last four world cups.
Barcabhoy says:
July 7, 2014 at 5:42 pm
“This is long, but it sets out to show in detail how the SFA did not act on numerous red flags when dealing with Sevco Scotland.”
mcfc says:
July 8, 2014 at 1:33 pm
“The SFA have done the bears no favours at all in the long run – just opened the doors to parasites and crooks.”
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One angle on the ‘Charlotte’ strategy is that it could be a gun to the head of the authorities. There is a phrase, ‘regulatory capture’ that describes a situation where one market player has control of the market. It confers almost monopoly status. In the case of Rangers the plan suffered a major failure since the wider paying customers smelt a rat and insisted upon tougher sanctions following liquidation than anyone in authority anticipated. Perhaps hanging in until the glorious climb back to their rightful place is complete is part of the need to get a return on this investment.
The spiv element in business loves a low risk investment. Rangers in some ways already contained elements of this characteristic; an SFA President in their pay and strong links to the business community in their role as a golf club proxy for your Glasgow networker. The problem was that these ‘assets’ had already been exploited by (S)DM to bursting point. However from a spiv perspective I can see that the cut of Rangers jib might have caught the clandestine eye.
‘Charlotte’ may have been the vehicle whereby regulatory complicity turned into capture. The process whereby reams of complex documentation might be released for public scrutiny and thereafter be endlessly dissected illustrated that even complex plots could be deciphered. The releases also implicated the SMSM to a large extent so may have served to warn them of the skeletons they had in the cupboard. We even had hours of audio implying all sorts of business regulation infringement and yet bodies like the Insolvency Practitioners Association were happy to stand up and say ‘nothing to see here, move along now’. However incredulous this may all have been it illustrated that there was a lot of brass neck out there. It may not have been in limitless supply however.
One piece of audio we did not hear was Whyte’s meeting with the SFA. Is this the real nuclear device. It was alluded to in the Charlotte leaks but not a whisper has ever been heard. We’ve heard him in elevators, in toilets, in bars and restaurants but not a whisper of his dinner date with representatives of the sport’s governing bodies.
What a delightful joker for the poker players ensconced at Edmiston Drive to have up their sleeve. It would be the sporting equivalent of a get out of jail free card. It would of course make an utter mockery of the sport. All the bampot calculations you can display would be shown to be works of nonsense in such an environment. Suddenly the impossible would become possible.
Cast of Thousands
I have always been of the opinion that whilst there may not have been a nuclear device there would surely have been a safety net. A sort of “If you put us down then you’re coming with us” type of approach. I’ve always struggled to see how that could be particularly put to good use of course as long as the entity that all sides seem determined to save continues to climb, but in doing so to lose money hand over fist. The bit the plan lacks is the final sale to a McColl, King or whoever and they’re simply not going to do that, to pay top dollar for the opportunity to continue to pile in their hard earned – safety net or not.
John Clark July9 12:29am
” I sent the following email yesterday. Not yet had a reply”
Well done that man ! However I think you will be fobbed off via “confidentiality”
If HULLBHOY is correct, and the link he provided does pertain to The Rangers, then it shows the level GW went to, to protect his big pal BS’s interests, and can be added to the final “pay-off” tally.
Poor GW….He didn’t get to bask in the glory of “sacking” BS for long,
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/companies-and-advisors/aim/advisers/aim-notices/ad12.pdf
Just to make clear re my link to the AIM disciplinary notice. If the notice and fine was for RIFC PLC I don’t think it relates to BS share option omission from the annual report as the notice was published in May.
My thinking is that the notice relates to a failure to disclose the secured loans provided by Laxey and Easdale in a timely way. The loans were widely reported in the media days before the official notice appeared on AIM. The loan transactions involved existing shareholders/Directors so that constitutes a related party transaction.
So if my thinking is correct RIFC PLC were fined £90K for that non/late disclosure.
Now they will presumably have to face the AIM regulator over the omission of BS share option from the Annual Report.
Folks, with regards the comments and arguments with OC/NC, can i just say well can my first name sake say the following;
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”
There is no debate, they died, there is no need to try to convince the unconvincible. They believe they are the people, if they were on fire and a Celtic fan had a fire extinguisher and a The rangers fan had a bucket of petrol, they would ask their fellow fan to put them out with the contents of their bucket. get on with your life, who you trying to convince?
Ryan I give you my written exemption, but that dear boy is it.
In the same way that England should be asking “What can we learn from Germany?”, The Rangers should be asking “What can we learn from Celtic?” – but that won’t happen either.
HULLBHOY.
“Just to make clear re my link to the AIM disciplinary notice.”
Sorry for any confusion on my part. However, It does put the true cost of the loan facility much higher than the originally stated 15% for Laxey. or even the subsequent £45K for George Letham.
Interesting if True
Rangers creditors win 24m settlement from law firm. FollowFollow.com 14:16
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/Scottish+Championship/Rangers
mcfc says:
July 9, 2014 at 2:40 pm
2 0 Rate This
Interesting if True
Rangers creditors win 24m settlement from law firm. FollowFollow.com 14:16
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/Scottish+Championship/Rangers
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Well, if that’s true the many suspicions and scenarios posted by TSFM’ers were correct all along.
Serious stuff. Fall-out should be interesting.
mcfc says:
July 9, 2014 at 2:40 pm
1 0 Rate This
Interesting if True
Rangers creditors win 24m settlement from law firm. FollowFollow.com 14:16
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/Scottish+Championship/Rangers
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http://www.followfollow.com/news/tmnw/rangers_creditors_win_24m_settlement_from_law_firm_836024/index.shtml?
The take on this on “follow follow” is just par for the course- Murray didn’t really run up any debt, criminal conspiracy against “oldco”, all Whyte’s fault, blah, blah, blah. These peepil are so far in denial that it’s painful to watch. We are seeing history being rewritten on a grand scale- and there is no doubt in my mind that Murray is dictating his version of history to his chosen scribes.
From the link above,
“…Had the prima facie evidence available to all of us at the time been accepted by the governing bodies – from the Murray arrangement with Lloyds and the reality that the huge ‘debt’ being floated as a fact was closer to myth than reality (and, bondholders aside, almost entirely a matter of Whyte’s dealings with Ticketus and lack of short-term engagement with the tax process) – then much hurt and suffering would have been avoided….”
Whats that you say Auldheid – there is a tendency to enrol the WTC accepted tax impropriety and debt with the BTC phantom ((c) Keef)?
So there is.
One thing this World Cup has shown is it’s not about money or resources but how you direct them.
Germany revamped their set up some 10 years ago. England, well they spent over £100M on world class training facilities and have no world class players to train.
I have a point and I’ll get there eventually.
Many observers of the game in Scotland seem to be seduced by the riches of the premier league and argue that we have too many wee diddly teams. ‘What we need’ they will say, is ‘one pro team in Dundee, and the other small teams to merge’. This is talked about by way of generating income and scale. Essentially the same as saying ‘we need a strong Rangers’.
What they fail to grasp is that money alone does not develop players. Otherwise England would have won the World Cup 2 or 3 times in the last 20 years.
A good plan and integrated player development policy develops players.
Just as beating a pretty average Brazil team (who, let’s be fair, were due a good doing) 1-7 doesn’t make you the best team ever, neither does Spain’s capitulation mean they are a spent force in world football.
I’m reminded of a story about the early Toyota company who were in the textile industry before they started making cars. Someone stole the plans for one of their new looms they shrugged it off. The thieves may be able to follow the design plans but Toyota were modifying and improving their looms every day. By the time the thieves produce their loom Toyota would already have advanced well beyond that point.
My point is, a focused policy concentrating on youth development and training in Scotland and how we approach continually improving this set up, will eventually lead to success. Trying to bolt on someone else’s ideas onto the Scottish or English set up will ultimately lead to an unsatisfying return.
@MCFC next to the article claiming the fans own 12% of rangers..