Imagine you are one of those people who have a nice big mahogany desk, with a gloss finish set in a big corner suite office which comes complete with a picture window, a break out area, a couch to lie down on in moments of stress, a quietly playing stereo sound system, fridge, plush carpet and loads of wee executive toy like things of your choosing.
Imagine, just for a moment, that outside your office you have the executive German car that is almost compulsory when you work in such an office. Added to that, you also have the benefit of a large six figure salary, a pension scheme, substantial holidays, a bonus scheme which nicely enhances your already excellent salary, fantastic perks and trips abroad as part of your job, and that you fill a position which leads to invitations to the most fantastic events, do’s, and sporting occasions imaginable.
Imagine the respect you must command from your peers, your family and friends.
Imagine the awe that you must be held in at dinner parties and social events when you are introduced to strangers for the first time– strangers who will have heard your name, and know of your position in society.
Imagine the personal and professional respect you must command from others in your field — or any other field for that matter — when you go to conferences and meetings in foreign cities and with foreign counterparts.
Imagine the envy that many others sometimes feel for someone who has succeeded in business and society to this extent.
Then imagine that the big office described above is at Hampden?
What a bummer!!
Now, I mention all of this because if you were one of the big cheeses at at Hampden, I wonder just what you do with yourself when the large rosewood door of your office closes behind you when you get in there each morning?
Maybe you make a coffee? Read the papers? Check the mail? Go to a meeting about the latest in 3G or is it 4G pitches being installed in a ground or two in the Shetlands?
However, no matter what you do and who you speak to THAT file is always there— always at the corner of your desk, neatly up there at the top left hand corner just beyond the desk top golf set and above the Newton’s cradle with the balls that spell your name or whatever.
That file– the one that relates to the finances, compliance, directors details and ownership of Rangers Football Club.
At least that is what the top of the file says. Though to be fair it is a continuation file… continuing from the one that was opened two months ago and is fit to burst already with reports, memo’s and letters- which in turn was a continuation of the one before that and the one before that and the one before that and on and on.
Maybe that is not the correct name for the club?
Maybe that is something that can be clarified at the next meeting with the Directors and CEO of the club— whoever they might be at that time?
No matter where you go in the room, you can see that file from every position. There is just no getting away from it.
Who owns The Rangers?
There are all sorts of reports, share prospectuses, memos, deeds, documents, contracts, letters, e-mails all asking the same thing. And there you are— none the wiser.
Please clarify this, please clarify that, are there any signed but unrecorded documents, or contracts?
Are the Companies House records accurate? is the Land register accurate?
At the end of the day you just lie on the couch, place a cold cloth over your head and hope it will all go away.
Then the accounts come out. Oh the figures are shocking and they confirm that most of the people you negotiated with to get their team playing football somewhere after the collapse and liquidation of RFC PLC have exited stage left with huge severance cheques.
They now live in France, or Singapore or the Cayman Islands and you can bet they will never darken a door in Mount Florida on a wet February morning ever again.
But that is not the worst of it — the bleeding internet is full of leaks— documents, letters, e-mails, contracts, company forms and all sorts.
You wouldn’t mind if the documents leaked were ones that you had seen before, but in the main they are things that you have never seen and never had disclosed.Every day someone calls and asks ” Have you seen the latest?” and of course you haven’t so you stand there feeling like a complete chookie!!!
Every day you call the compliance and monitoring guys:
” Eh have you seen this? Have you been notified that he is a director?”
” No boss – never seen that? Never knew it existed?”
” So who owns the company if that is correct?”
” Eh Dunno boss — not sure of anything over there any more!”
“Ok have you checked the titles with the lawyers?”
” yes but the title as registered looks ok, but there is no guarantee that it hasn’t been sold to someone else and they have not registered their title for the moment!”
” Have you spoken to the lawyers? Have you asked for clarification?”
” yes Boss — the Lawyers don’t really answer our questions– well at least not fully!”
” What about these accounts – there are 57 pages there – what do they tell us?”
” Well they tell us that the figures are not good, boss, but not immediately critical.”
” Are they paying their taxes?”
” Appear to be boss– but we can’t be sure.can we? We were told they were paying their taxes before and … well you know the rest.”
” Ok, but Pinsent masons rule out the Whyte guy being involved?”
” Ah well not really – they don’t go into the company he says he owns – they sort of ignore that part!”
” But they carried out an independent investigation, surely?”
” True boss, but the independent investigation was only into what the non independent guys wanted investigating Boss, and they appear to have finished their report without speaking to all the witnesses.”
” Ok but the accounts – what do the accounts say about Whyte being the real owner — I mean they are from Deloittes for God sake – they must make the position clear?”
” Well we have had a look at them boss and in that regard the accounts are King Kenny!”
” King Kenny?”
” Aye King Kenny Boss – with regard to Whyte’s claim they say ” maybes aye– maybes naw” and they leave it at that”
” Jesus, well have you written to the Directors?”
” Aye – half the letters have come back marked “Gone away”.Boss”
” Do you know who the shareholders are?”
” Naw Boss”
“Do they have a bank account and a bank reference ?”
” Naw Boss”
” Who’s coming to the next meeting from their side?”
” Dunno Boss”
” Is there anything you can tell me that lets me close this file and get it off my desk for good?”
” Naw boss”
” Well who did we grant membership to last year?”
” The first time or the second time Boss?”
” What do you mean – first time or second time?”
” We started out granting membership to one company and then changed it to another”
” Two companies – owned by the same people?”
” Dunno Boss– but they sounded the same.”
” And which one got a licence?”
” Dunno boss”
” What?”
“Was the licence not granted by Mr Longmuir boss? And then ratified by us as a formality?”
” Why are you asking me, you are the compliance guys?”
” Aye but we were told it would all be ok by … well by someone ….. and by Mr Longmuir”
” When did he tell you that?”
” Told us one day at Ibrox Boss – I think it was at half time?”
” Half Time?”
” Aye – though it might have been full time boss ….. free bevvy and sandwiches so can’t quite remember”.
” Well who has the paperwork?”
” Lost boss”
” Lost?”
” Yes Boss – it was meant to come up from the SFL but never appeared. Turns out that the SFL was run as an unincorporated body and none of its records etc, are intact or have ever been audited …… Boss. Mr Ballantyne might have them in his garage Boss! ……… Boss? ….. are you still there? Boss?”
The man in the corner suite leaves the phone dangling, goes to his fridge for a cold drink and switches on the executive plasma hanging on the wall by way of the remote control on his desk.
The screen beams into life and an advert for the brand of soft drink that he is holding fills the wall. The very same brand of soft drink that has just been announced as the official soft drink to partner Scottish Football.
The executive, looks at his drinks can, looks at the file on the corner of the desk, looks at the abandoned phone and finally looks at the screen just as the speakers spell out clearly ………….. the benefits of coming from a long line of Fannies.
This is Scottish Football Administration in the 21st Century.
In the last 15 months (yes it is that old) he has not came out and denied it. In fact it upped his stock level amongst many of the support he covets playing in front of again
is sooopers salary a non recurring McCost?
see what i did there?
ah’ll get ma jaiket…the wan wae the big pockets obviously!
ally and chuckles would rival kenny everett in the big hauns stakes!
Caller “What was your job at Rangers, Gordon?”
Smith “Eh I was employed to eh develop the youth side…..eh look for new young players…..and eh develop relationships with other countries…..”
On this basis it is clear that Sevco is not a club, nor a company nor even a Clumpany, it’s a countryclumpany.
They don’t see the irony. . .
http://www.ibroxnoise.co.uk/2013/10/what-they-dont-want-you-to-know-about.html?
. . .” Because, and here is the killer point: Ally McCoist took his wage cut because he is employed by the club, otherwise known as the ‘sporting’ side of the business which is formally called “The Rangers Football Club Ltd” (this also ’employs’ the Easdale brothers – non-exec).
Stockbridge and Mather (and Hart and Smart) and are on the board of the company called “Rangers International Football Club PLC”. That is the parent company of RFC Ltd.”
The CLUB and The COMPANY are ‘explained’ to be separate, for the idiots – (US)?
. . .” the club, otherwise known as the ‘sporting’ side of the business which is formally called “The Rangers Football Club Ltd”
= The Rangers Football Club Ltd
What was ‘the club’ called before it changed it’s name to TRFC Ltd?
Answer = SEVCO
So even the ibrox noise are admitting it is a new entity.
Markybhoy says:
October 7, 2013 at 4:00 pm
”…. But when the first cup tie is arranged between Celtic and Sevco, which will be sooner rather than later, then watch the tickets go. ..”
——-
An interesting scenario to speculate upon! Oddly enough, I haven’t seen or heard anything much about the attitude of influential Celtic groups if that scenario eventuates.
The general run of Celtic supporters would be keen not to want to acknowledge the legitimacy of the new club, and would not particularly get any satisfaction out of playing a wee’ bastard’ of a new club.
On the other hand, they would be mad keen to take a barra load aff whatever team Ally was in charge of as representing all that the dead club had stood for in terms of cheatery etc.
Tough call, some would say!
But I think principle would be upheld, and such a cup-tie would be boycotted.
That way, not quite so much gate money would go to the spivs.
Exiled Celt says:
October 7, 2013 at 5:10 pm
====================================
The writer states ‘I am the first to confess I am not a financial manager, and stocks, shares, trade and NASDAQ are all double Dutch to me.’ Who would ever have guessed eh?
On a wider note the whole thrust of his article is Rangers are as big/bigger than Celtic ‘just because’. Heaven help anyone who does get in power at Ibrox and tries to run at at least break even if this is the type of clown they are going to have hollering from the side.
Going off topic a little, there was the good old Unionist BBC doing its bit for the ‘NO’ vote!
The two ‘Clydesiders’ ( no harm to them ,nice youngsters) wheeled out for interview from who knows how many others available were—— English!
The BBC has an agenda of its own , namely to avoid the break-up of the BBC itself by quietly trying to sabotage and undermine the ‘no’ vote in lots of subtle little ways, while making token obeisance to ‘impartiality’.
Scratch any one of the BBC Scotland brass, and you find a North Briton.
And who have they appointed as the man to cover the run-up to the referendum? Why, none other than James Naughtie, the Jock strapped most intimately to the groin of BBC London.
john clarke says:
October 7, 2013 at 7:27 pm
=========================================
John, with respect, as someone who is wary of nationalism in all it’s warped, small minded forms, I’m sure there are many other forums you can indulge your political leanings. This is a football forum.
Many thanks.
john clarke says:
October 7, 2013 at 7:27 pm
2 2 Rate This
The BBC has an agenda of its own , namely to avoid the break-up of the BBC itself by quietly trying to sabotage and undermine the ‘no’ vote in lots of subtle little ways, while making token obeisance to ‘impartiality’.
+++++++++
That should be “yes” vote, I think.
BigGav says:
October 7, 2013 at 4:38 pm
ecobhoy says:
October 7, 2013 at 2:49 pm
[…] However where in the Accounts is the mention of the £1 million loan or doesn’t a draw-down for a subsidiary from a related or third party need to be shown – of course it should ❗
———
Can we be sure the drawdown facility has actually been used? Perhaps it really is genuine ‘income’. After all, the accounts (p12 & 32) show revenue from Retail of £1.607m.
=======================================================
We don’t actually know whether the drawdown has been used or not. When I first posted on the possibility after Mather/Stockbridge meeting with fans I noticed the comment about £1.5 million ‘income’ from SportsDirect being included in the £10 million left in the bank.
The drawdown maximum according to the Rangers AIM Prospectus is £1.5 million so that caught my eye. And why when the two exec directors didn’t seem to be able to say how much was left from the IPO with any certainty could they be so specific about the £1.5 million?
And why would £1.5 million ‘income’ be seen as distinct and special and without going back to check the wording my memory is it was definitely described as ‘income’ and I’m pretty sure from ‘SportDirect’ and not Rangers Retail.
But why would ‘income’ not be available to RIFC Plc? I would have thought any income would just be part of the revenue raised and available to spend as Rangers decide. So no we don’t know whether the drawdown has been used but, on the other hand, I’m not sure it sounds like income either.
andygraham.66 on October 7, 2013 at 6:17 pm
10 3 Rate Down
In the last 15 months (yes it is that old) he has not came out and denied it. In fact it upped his stock level amongst many of the support he covets playing in front of again
……
Not denied it ?
Has anyone asked him?
Does he even know its there ?
I will show him When I see him If and only If !
I think he won’t take it the wrong way 🙁
Before more TDs. Ask urself how would you approach such a sensitive issue and how you would react to the accusations?
So will be tricky but will see how it go’s 🙁
Should see him at the weekend if he’s at his son’s football
There seemed to be a campaign afoot at the weekend to attempt to unsettle Anthony Stokes and other Celtic players. Three Sunday tabloids had some scare story on their back pages.
George Galloway’s motion on British soldiers & sectarianism
http://www.votegeorgegalloway.com/2013/10/galloway-submits-motions-against.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+GeorgeGallowayMp+(George+Galloway+MP)&m=1
tcup 2012 says:
October 7, 2013 at 5:57 pm
…(Nacho Novo) … the man does not have a spiteful or nasty.bone in his body
——
Whilst agreeing that Novo is probably not stupid enough to post something like that on Twitter, he is certainly stupid enough to display his arse and give the finger to Aberdeen fans following Rangers’ beating off the Mighty Sheep in 2009.
And spiteful enough to be quoted, in connection with a mooted move to Pittodrie:
“I would not go to Aberdeen – why would I give up playing against Barcelona and Real Madrid to play for Aberdeen? I have nothing against their manager but their fans hate me and I hate them, so why would I want to play for them?”
He may well be a lovely bloke in everyday life (most people are) – but he needn’t show his face north of Stonehaven again, thanks.
Bawsman says:
October 7, 2013 at 7:40 pm
‘…John, with respect, as someone who is wary of nationalism ..’
—-
Bawsman ( and others) : Don’t know what came over me! Apologies.
Castofthousands says:
October 7, 2013 at 7:47 pm
There seemed to be a campaign afoot at the weekend to attempt to unsettle Anthony Stokes and other Celtic players. Three Sunday tabloids had some scare story on their back pages.
======================================
Par for the course as long as I can remember. Even more so now as the club from Ibrox self destructs.
Angus your statements say it all 😐
He has been painted as the pantomime villain by many fans (me included as I said to him I used to want to fling bricks at him)
But what were the aberdeen fans singing and shouting at him When he was on the pitch,bench or in the stands ? 🙁
But your wee sensitive soul gets all upset When he gives you some back?
Lol You defeat your own point
john clarke says:
October 7, 2013 at 7:54 pm
===========================
Accepted mate, no problem.
Partick v Hibs game very entertaining.
23 mins, a minutes applause for fan who died this week.
RIP Scott
The 5 way agreement not only destroyed any vestige of decency from the Scottish game, it also contained within it the seeds of SEVCO’s destruction. The desperation to carry on as “Rangers” has destroyed them, and they were doomed from the very beginning of the myth of the eternal Rangers.
A new club at Ibrox- still called Rangers – battling through the divisions would have had a story to sell, could have reduced their cost base massively and attracted a huge amount of goodwill from most neutrals in Scottish football.
The Rangers loyal, who had virtually resigned themselves to the death of their club before the 5 way agreement, suddenly felt that nothing had happened of significance and indeed that all actions which had lessened the eternal club’s legitimate status as the greatest football team ever, ever, ever in the entire world, were motivated by spite and bitterness. They thus demanded the same old triumphalism, sectarianism and deference to satisfy their anger.
They became collectively delusioned. Unfortunately for the future of SEVCO this delusion by its very nature demanded the abandonment of any financial discipline or sense. The paraphernalia of “The Biggest Club in Scotland” had to be maintained hence the “record” crowds and the total abandonment of any links to reality.
The club as I write holds significantly less than ten million in the bank and has no credit facilities. It is burning cash at over two million a month – the ongoing income on a monthly basis is probably a third of that.
The continuing club myth has thus forced the retention of an unsustainable culture by people who have been fed the lie that their club is immortal and can do anything. At some point the lesson will have to be learnt if any club is to survive at all.
It seems to me that the best thing that could happen for Rangers and for Scottish football is a second liquidation, and a new club officially recognised by all to emerge somewhere in the lower reaches of the new pyramidal structure of Scottish football.
Anything else and it is only a matter of time before the whole edifice comes tumbling down.
Nice coincidence that the amount donated to Thistle, £750,000, which is money enough to start an entire youth academy at Firhill = enough to pay one manager in the third tier.
Iceman
I agree there was a chance to repent the sins of the old club and start a new club without the lousy baggage that had been dragging the old club down for years ,I hoped that the real rangers fans would have stepped up to ensure their voice was heard ,alas I only heard the peepils voice .
The fact that the Peepil at Hampden and in the MSM encouraged this fallacy certainly did not help the voice of the real ragers fans to be heard but I have to say the fact I have yet to meet a single ex rangers fan admit THEIR old club were wrong for doing what they did ,leads me to believe my assumption that their were many real rangers football fans was way out .
As I would surely have met a sensible one by now .
GG having to ask his question tells me the Sevco fans have exactly the club they wanted and deserve
Brilliant post, iceman63. This is a farce that is rapidly turning into a tragedy. The SFA’s disgusting facilitation of what is a fraud on every level has poisoned the game in a country that has at least as much claim to have invented it as England. I say that as an Irishman.
Eternal shame on all involved. Those at the top of the SFA should remember that the truth always outs, even if, as in the case of Hillsborough, it takes c.25 years. Is this really how Ogilvie, Regan, Doncaster and Longmuir wish to be regarded?
DP
I would watch what you say there son ,as with a moniker like yours ,you run the risk of a 3rd tier manager
hunting you down and eating you up 😀
Thanks for your reply.
The description of the money as income from ‘SportsDirect’ and not from RR appears quite significant and supports your interpretation.
Whatever the source of the funds though, I don’t think that money in RR’s bank account can be used freely by TRFCL or RIFC. I believe it would need to be transferred out of the company as a dividend, requiring authority of the RR board/shareholders.
Not one mention on Rangers Media about the Setanta story today,have they become battle weary or have they got their eyes on the boardroom battle that has turned into bear on bear as the power struggle rages at Ibrox.
They are running out of excuses about the myth that is being fed to the gullible bears , and they are starting to forget what it is exactly they are claiming,to be a good liar takes an extraordinary memory and the bloggers,PR guys and the SMSM are getting careless,or maybe they know its all about to come crashing down and they have thrown in the towel
Delbhoy says:
October 7, 2013 at 12:49 pm
2 0 Rate This
I think this snippet in The Sun was alluded to earlier :
” Rangers missed out on a share of a £600,000 pay-out from former TV company Setanta – because techically they don’t exist anymore.
Clubs who were part of the SPL between 2009 and 2012 received payments this week as their final dividend for the company going into administration back in 2009.
But Rangers got nothing because they were classed as a club which no longer exists after their liquidation in June 2012 “.
Can’t argue with that. But who classed them as such, because this is a form of taxonomy I can get to grips with.
—————
There are two versions of that photo circulating on twitter. Either one or both of them have been photoshopped. A lot of weird stuff on twitter at the moment, ostensibly from authentic bampots. As we saw last weekend on here, some people are not all that they seem. This one is a puzzler.
chancer67
what story was that 😯
Do we have a rouge reporter on the looooooooooose 😯
@fergus check these two images circulating on twitter:
http://m.imgur.com/rAFo5L6
http://m.imgur.com/FvD6j7G
PS Thought that manager was more of a pie man than a pastry eater 🙂
Oh Well bring on more TDs I feel so loved today 😈
I always thought this forum was all about finding the truth
Stating and finishing with the 1 law in this country I truly believe in
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
But if you played for or were/are associated with a certain club or even worse a fans favourite 🙁
Just hang him and ask questions if and When it suits
All Mr Novo has done today was to accept the honour of drawing some balls out a bowl 🙁
Yes we all know it was a propaganda exercise by the powers that be 🙁
But if it wasn’t novo it would have been 1 of the many many others who used to play out of skull mountain
Let the TDS commence
alzipratu
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How to count in Sevconian
Can anyone help me out here?
Official documents produced by Duff & Phelps showed the following football creditors (ie those owed money by the now-defunct Rangers FC):
AS St Etienne £252,212.39
Arsenal £136,560.00
Chelsea £238,345.43
Manchester City £328,248.71
Manea Florin Bucharest £37,500.00
Orebro SK £150,000.00
SK Rapid £1,011,763.44
Palermo £205,513.04
Total £2,360,143.01
Celtic £40,337.00
Dundee United £65,981.49
Dunfermline £83,370.13
Hearts £800,000.00
Inverness Caly £39,805.00
Total £1,029,493.62
Taking the Scottish clubs first, we were told that the SPL retained prize monies which were due to Rangers in May 2012 in order to repay these debts. We also know that the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund actually repaid Dunfermline although the actual sum according to the RFFF’s own “accounts” was £80,000.
Yet, in November 2012, it was widely reported that Hearts had rejected an offer of £500,000 to settle the outstanding debt of £800,000. It gets even murkier when you start looking at press reports because in August 2012 it was reported by STV amongst others (following statements by Charles Green) that all debts to Scottish clubs had been paid apart from £500,000 due to Hearts in July 2013. That would mean that only £449,493.62 had actually been repaid as of November 2012 [£1,029,493.62 – (£500,000 + £83,370.13)].
So, how much did the SPL actually withhold from Rangers FC and why did it not pay Hearts? Given that Rangers should have been due something like £2.6m in prize money from the SPL for “finishing” 2nd, and actually received £500k from the SPL during the administration period, I am completely lost as to who and what was actually repaid by the SPL.
Turning to foreign clubs, at the same time as claiming that all Scottish football debts had been paid, Charles Green also claimed that he had sent payment to the SFA to repay all foreign football debts. He also stated that the SFA had rejected this and told Sevco to repay the clubs directly.
It is curious therefore to find that Sevco only repaid SK Rapid in November 2012 following the threat of court action and an appeal to UEFA by the Viennese club. It is even more curious to find that, according to Charles Green, Sevco only paid £800,000 having negotiated direct with SK Rapid.
At which point, we get to the RIFC prospectus from 7 December 2012. This clearly states in setting out income and expenditure for the 3 months to 31 August 2012 that “Non-recurring expenditure includes £2.8 million of repayments in respect of old football creditors, which RFCL [Sevco] committed to paying”. To my mind that states it has been paid especially as the prospectus goes on to state unequivocally that Sevco has no debt as of 31 October 2013 (let’s ignore the fact that £500k was not due to Hearts until July 2013).
The prospectus also states that £740,000 of RFC’s football debts had been repaid by Sevco and that a further 3 clubs were owed a maximum of £1.7m being SK Rapid, Arsenal and GAIS (Gothenburg).
I know what you are thinking – where the hell have GAIS come from?!! Bizarrely they do not appear on the official creditors list produced by Duff & Phelps yet would appear to have been owed £551,676.56 [£1.7m minus £136,560 (Arsenal) and £1,011,763 (SK Rapid)] or even – if we believe the November press reports and Charles Green’s statements about SK Rapid – £851,676. Furthermore, we now have a figure of £2.44m owed in football debts and how can you state on one page that you have no debts and on another page that you still owe £1.7m?
It is worth noting that the combined debt owed to St Etienne, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manea Florin, Orebro, and Palermo is actually £1.2m so either Sevco renegotiated these debts (to get to a figure of £740k) or some haven’t been repaid. Interestingly, sources at Manchester City stated in May 2013 that no payment had been received. I have been unable to ascertain from any other club if and how much they have been paid.
Looking back to GAIS, this must relate of course to the signing of Mervan Celik although the Daily Record reported on 9 February 2012 that Rangers and GAIS were in dispute with GAIS claiming they were owed £240k compensation. One can only assume therefore that this debt had not been accepted by Duff & Phelps as at July 2012 and has been added subsequently either because Sevco accepted it as due or GAIS successfully took legal action or GAIS successfully appealed to UEFA/FIFA. Either way, it doesn’t quite tally with the prospectus which suggests the debt owed is at least £551k.
One would have thought that Sevco’s audited accounts would provide a clearer picture but, alas, no! Page 9, for example, states that £2.4m was paid to clear football debts “incurred pre-administration”. Page 13 then states “Repayment of RFC 2012 plc football debt” as £2.721m. Perhaps what was meant is that £2.4m has actually been paid the balance of £321k is yet to be paid for page 40 states “Football club creditors of RFC 2012 plc taken on by the Group of £251,000 are included within other creditors”?
So what we have is a whole series of numbers which are contradictory and confusing. But perhaps this is unsurprising as we all know Sevconian language and arithmetic are extremely difficult to comprehend. Still, I’m sure the blazers in Hampden will be on top of all of this; it was a key condition of the 5-way agreement after all.
[repost, courtesy of Alzipratu ]
TCup. Not buying it. Not with the interest on my EBT.
Alasdair Lamont @BBCAlLamont 10s
Craig Mather and Brian Stockbridge have been meeting Dave King in South Africa re future of Rangers. More to come soon.
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1125180/nacho-novo-blasts-celtic-as-'sham-club‘?cc=5739
Anyone interested in the Nacho Novo debate should read this article, then judge the disputed tweet in that light.
maybe they gave St Etienne their bike back – and that was that one settled
DP
was it suggested it was in today’s Sun ,if so should be easy to dismiss as faked
So it appears that the adminstrators for Setanta have decided not to pay money to the old club adding weight to the argument they are well deid.
Presumably they too will go in the Ibrox Big Book of Bastards to Boycott.
But hold on a minute, who is that you say were the Setanta Administrators.?
I think you will find it may have been a company called Deloitte.
There hasn’t been as much irony since Tony Stark took his Tefal and pressed some of his special suits while standing on top of the Forth Bridge.:-)
Squiggle
I thought it was the company/club that HMRC was taking to court ? Not the individuals who I’m sure under advicement (good or BAD) done what most would have And took the money
🙁
I personally hope they get nailed to the wall for it 🙂
But that is not the issue here
The issue started with an Apparent post by novo or someone claiming his name on Twitter from 15 months ago
Because he was chosen to help make the draw today 🙁
this setanta admin payment – surely any money owed should go to RFC 2012 PLC (IL) to settle debts to their creditors?
fergusslayedtheblues says:
October 7, 2013 at 9:35 pm
2 0 Rate This
DP
was it suggested it was in today’s Sun ,if so should be easy to dismiss as faked
———-
Indeed, but why are there two versions being circulated is what’s bothering me.
Not The Huddle Malcontent says:
October 7, 2013 at 9:30 pm
I hope the two of them didn’t go 1st class or that DK paid for the tickets a la Charlie’s friends in Dubai.
Guessing a wee PR piece coming up on Reporting Scotland after the 10 O’clock news?
(Possibly then denied by King who was actually in Dallas watching the Cowboys before going to Disney World and calling Steve Jobs in heaven)
NTHM
That is very interesting .
When the old club died ,there were 2 creditors that were owed a great deal of money that I thought would not be happy to just walk away .DK and Ticketus .
I think that one has been getting repaid in the last 12 months and now it looks like the other one may be coming for his .
Share and lease back anyone ,SHHHHH don’t tell the gullible as we still need them to pony up .
Danish Pastry at 8:51
I don’t know what picture you refer to. I don’t use twitter or post links or cut and paste. I ( laboriously for me ) typed out the article word for word, as it appeared in the print edition of the Sun.
tcup 2012 says:
October 7, 2013 at 5:57 pm
Exiled Celt on October 7, 2013 at 1:26 pm
43 0 Rate This
RhebelRhebel @RhebelRhebel 1h @bbcsportsound Will anybody be asking the @ScottishFA why Nacho Novo was picked to promote the cup after this?
https://twitter.com/joeman42/status/215413862818791424/photo/1
……………….
I can assure everyone that this will ne a made up account with some idiot using his name 🙁
I know nacho personally and from my experience .I would be extremely surprised and disappointed if it was him
1 he is not stupid enough to put anything like this I’m twitter
2 the man does not have a spiteful or nasty.bone in his body
In fact the man would go out of his way to help anyone no matter what walk if life they came from 🙂
BTW I am a Celtic fan (just to clarify)
********
Sorry but it is his account and he still uses the same Twitter account today
He used the Jeff Winters excuse – apparently his account was hacked for a day – he never reported it nor closed the account down and only came up with this reason yesterday months after the Tweet had gone out and gained points from his pals at Ibrokes.
He may well be the most wonderful of human beings – however he is a racist telling people to go home (irony lost on him there no doubt) and of course included the charge of child abuse just to ensure the peepil lapped it up.
Must be hundreds of better role models to do the draw surely!
Paulie Walnuts @padrepio1916 20m
So the Sevco begging bowl is well and truly out, in South Africa desperate for Dave King to tide them over lol #notlongnow
Alasdair Lamont @BBCAlLamont 26m
Craig Mather and Brian Stockbridge have been meeting Dave King in South Africa re future of Rangers. More to come soon
Apparently Mather and Stockbridge have arranged an urgent meeting with the Glib Liar!
wottpi says:
October 7, 2013 at 9:44 pm
‘…Guessing a wee PR piece coming up on Reporting Scotland after the 10 O’clock news?’
——-
Must they always have to approach dodgy business people?
Are there no wholesome potential investors, not known to Interpol or Tax authorities?
What is their problem in finding ordinary investors?
DP
was one from the Scottish Sun and the other the English edition 🙄 🙄 😀
I may check tomorrow if there is still one in the work canteen .
Must admit looks dodgy to me
Never said he was a saint
And as I said I will ask hum about it as soon as I see him and at an appropriate time (not in front of has family etc)
Only 1 small point was yesterday the first time he was asked about it and was he not in his home country at the time?
If he was (I’m not sure if he was) how would we know if it was reported or not ?
Exiled Celt says:
October 7, 2013 at 2:17 pm
So when Sandaza was called in to explain why he disclosed the terms of his contract to Tommy and gave an indication he would like to move from Ibrokes, in violation of the terms of his contract
(())(()))(()))
Unlike Chuckles, when he breached his contract by uttering racist epithets about a colleague or Ian Black who admitted to betting against the team he was registered with and in a game he was playing or Ally who accused a panel of destroying his club ‘who are these people’ or the director who filmed another director, without his knowledge, after he was ‘refreshed’ or the PR guy who accused the ‘greatest living Ranger’ of being thick or the director of communication who claimed that ‘jack Irvine does not speak for this club’.
Below sweet after earlier tweet from al lamont at bbc re stockbridge and mather
@OHenleyAlex It would appear that Craig Mather and Brian Stockbridge are looking for more investors to put money into #Rangers. No comment from Dave King
I’m google searching and can’t find anything about this Setanta thing, other than on Pie & Bovril. The language it purportedly uses (per the pics) doesn’t sound kosher…even for the Sin!
Yesterday was first time he replied to the charges and it was only because he realised BBC and SFA were being bombarded with queries asking why.
He did not delete the tweet – and actually received plaudits from the peepil
He did not delete or suspend his account
I can only surmise it did not phase him – until he realized it had done him no favours.
Can you ask him instead when he is intending to pay back his EBT? Did he find it ironic walking round Ibrox with RST to raise money for charity knowing he had pocketed tax free money from the club that had placed them in the situation?
Would be more interested in that than excuses for being caught sending out despicable tweets.
Now why would a guy who supposedly got stiffed for 20m with only a club tie to show for it bail out a tribute act running the very same business plan as the old dead parrot .
Does he fancy losing another rake of cash or did he get paid back some time ago ?
The plot thickens and here was me thinking they had lost the plot long ago 😯 😯
away to catch up on my beauty sleep ,wake me in 2024 😀
Reminder – our late friend Corsica posted on RTC last year that CW, CG, Ellis and King all met in Zurich last summer for some odd reason…………wonder if the plan is now kicking in…………..
Edited to add
adieu @corsica1968 14m
Going to have to dig out all those old posts on RTC by Corsica now, aren’t I? Return of the King; will MSM now investigate links with CW?
TIgerTim @asmallteaser 8m
@corsica1968 It just keeps going round in circles, not one of them care about Rangers, The Blue Knights should return next or Bill NG
adieu @corsica1968 5m
@asmallteaser Based on everything Corsica said, this is the end-game
Markybhoy says:
And then weep as Chic and co roar to all and sundry that this is what Scottish Football is ALL about! And outside of here watch how many disagree.
—————————————————-
Hard to argue with your prediction Markybhoy..I am losing the will too. It will come to pass that the first Sevco (mark 1 or 2) v Celtic game will be a full house whipped into a pre-match frenzy by a gleeful MSM. Who will the MSM blame for the ensuing carnage across Scotland and Northern Ireland..anyone but themselves!
neepheid says:
October 7, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Mr NN is totally clueless and his tweet disgusting and I suppose he is playing to a gallery. Never been a fan and will never be a fan of his but nobody deserves death threats. I have a little tale I have never shared about him which is related to when he got what I’m sure was his EBT.
As far as the Sun pics go, http://imgur.com/rAFo5L6 has definitely been Photshopped. They have even changed the description of Setanta from company to club. The other pic has not been altered as far as I can make out
tcup 2012 says:
October 7, 2013 at 8:05 pm
Lol You defeat your own point
——
Tcup, I realise you’re playing the troll. And, as I say, I’m sure Mr Novo is just as decent a bloke as the rest of us in real life (despite aforementioned double standards).
However, he did embody the very worst of Peepil attitudes when he pulled on the blue shirt. It often seems to be the case that incomers do so – they use the language, they employ the gestures (hello, Mr Gascoigne), they buy into the WATP sloganeering and develop the obligatory inverted inferiority complex without really having any conception of the hornet’s nest they stir. It’s a tale told many times.
I sympathise with you, because I too have known people reviled in their public persona who have been regular guys in real life. However, if they choose to play the pantomime villain then that is the persona that will be associated with them by their public. They, or their personal acquaintances, can hardly complain when people call them the arse they appear to be.
As for responding to fans’ chants … most Celtic players seem able to ignore far worse things from the Ibrox stands (see e.g. Novo’s tweet) than Novo ever got from anyone. As do Aberdeen players, for that matter. Novo got paid more than enough to allow him to rise above taunts.
Perhaps he thought the arse display was part of his expected villain act, and it would be taken in good humour. Unfortunately, he was a nasty, arrogant piece of work on the pitch, unlike e.g. Hamish McAlpine – Hamish was a proper panto villain, who made Dundee Utd games at Pittodrie far more entertaining than they already were – for both us and him!
So – Novo. Decent guy in private life, maybe, but a bit of a dick in a blue shirt. QED.
Turn it up guys! Nacho Novo. What sort of revisionism is this? Did he not ditch Celtic at the 11th hour for an EBT – one of the highest? Think i seen him kiss the badge a few times too, when he wasn’t snarling. Funny, i didn’t think he was like that either. Fair opened my eyes.
JustEddie @edwardrice1 9m
@Pmacgiollabhain King still on the hook for insider trading? http://www.iol.co.za/business/opinion/king-still-on-the-hook-for-insider-trading-1.1575272#.UlMm2nVwZjo …
King still on the hook for insider trading?
September 10 2013 at 08:00am
By Allan Greenblo
Comment on this story
There are two King codes on corporate governance. The one, more famous, is endorsed by the Institute of Directors and resonates in the Companies Act on good governance. The other, now infamous, emerges from the actions of Dave King whose attempts to diddle the taxman represent a textbook case on how an erstwhile JSE-listed company should not be governed.
The supine mea culpa issued by King, in agreeing to the settlement with the SA Revenue Service (Sars) at R707 million (additional to the R350m from the sale of attached assets), sharply contradicts the arrogance displayed during his decade-long battle. But it isn’t only this that makes his statement remarkable. It’s the implicit admission that Ben Nevis and King are effectively one and the same.
There could be implications, and there should be. Ben Nevis, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands and purportedly owned by a Guernsey-registered trust, was integral to King’s tax avoidance structure. It enabled him to contend that Ben Nevis and not he was the controlling shareholder of Specialised Outsourcing Limited (SOL). Exposure of the hoax opens a Pandora’s box of insider trading.
Shares in SOL, founded by King, were placed at 50c. Based on what the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) described in 2010 as “alleged deliberate manipulation of financial statements, financial reports and recorded earnings… with a view to enhance the growth profile and share price of the company”, the share price peaked at R70 and subsequently fell out of bed.
SOL, of which King was chief executive, was not in the 1990s obliged by JSE rules to disclose directors’ dealings. So the extent of his offloading, in the guise of Ben Nevis, was not publicly known. The controlling shareholder had sold its 70 percent stake at a R1.2 billion profit, rapidly dispatched to King’s offshore accounts.
The NPA’s intended prosecution was instituted after a series of complaints by institutional investors in SOL. These included Old Mutual, Sanlam, Coronation and Southern Life. That the prosecution did not proceed reflects more on the NPA’s competence than on King’s innocence.
Of the charges that were to have been brought, none was for insider trading. Of the R12m in fines he must pay as part of the Sars settlement, none is for insider trading.
Yet in 2004, the directorate of market abuse at the Financial Services Board (FSB) had investigated SOL for insider trading and handed its files to the criminal investigation authorities. It said at the time: “The directorate could not consider the possibility of a civil action against any party with regard to SOL as the transactions which were investigated occurred before the Insider Trading Act came into operation.”
Insider trading was illegal under the 1973 Companies Act. Criminality aside, new legislation provides for civil proceedings where fines of up to four times the gains made from a trade may be levied. The FSB is empowered to pursue transgressors and to compensate those who might have been prejudiced by the offending transactions; in this case, the institutions invested in SOL on behalf of clients.
What counts in King’s favour is the argument that civil claims against him have been prescribed by the time limit during which they should have been brought. But from when does prescription run? From the time the insider trading took place, or from the time the regulator and the prejudiced institutions could identify the transgressor? If the latter, then the evidence is in King’s admission that he was Ben Nevis.
It’s easier to show insider trading in civil actions, on a balance of probabilities, than in criminal actions, where it must be proven beyond reasonable doubt. At least the balance of probabilities suggests that King committed insider trading on a grand scale, by selling securities on the basis of non-public information, severely to the detriment of investors not privy to it.
King’s newly found morality compensates Sars. It does not extend to others at the receiving end of financial damages in the collapse of SOL’s share price. Although the 1998 Insider Trading Act is not retrospective, it does allow the FSB directorate to investigate and prosecute alleged insider trading offences under the old Companies Act. Where actions are criminal, there’s no time constraint on prosecution.
Perhaps it would be a good idea for King not to put aside his cheque book just yet.
Allan Greenblo is the editorial director of Today’s Trustee (www.totrust.co.za), a quarterly magazine mainly for trustees of retirement funds.
briggsbhoy says:
October 7, 2013 at 10:20 pm
‘….nobody deserves death threats over a game of football. ..’
—–
You’ll get no thumbs down from me for that observation.
But if NN did send that tweet, it does raise problems.
Why should someone capable of such a tweet be ‘honoured’ by even the smallest representative act on behalf of Scottish football?
There are scores and scores of non-vile , family men, good lads going about their professional lives in Football, any one of whom , who all command and earn the respect of the general run of football supporters, would be deserving of a little public honour.
The SFA seems to be blind to street reality, when they think that they must toady to one particular set of players.
If they are so stupid, then they’ve got to go.
If they are acting from motives other than crass stupidity- they really, really must be made to go.
briggsbhoy says:
October 7, 2013 at 10:20 pm
I have never been a fan of Mr Novo, in fact I couldn’t stand him, still cant. That said I do have a degree of sympathy and can understand why he would feel the way he does about Celtic Supporters when you read articles in which he describes abuse and death threats from them. I can hear comments such as “he’s brought it against himself” but I would say really ! A similar accusation (that I never agreed with) was made about NL and nobody deserves death threats over a game of football. I await the td’s 🙂
+++++++++++++++++
I quite agree, and no TDs from me. The only issue I have is the lack of any effective action from the SFA regarding the offending tweet. The fact that anyone who writes that sort of stuff is a poor excuse for a human being is just self evident- in my opinion.
Novo was, in fact, the perfectly matched partner in every way for the repulsive Ogilvie at the cup draw. Rangers Man? Box ticked. Juicy EBT? Box ticked. Poor excuse for a human being? Box ticked. One for each end of the mantelpiece, as my old mother would have said. This is Scottish football today, folks. We are once again in the safe strong hands of the “Rangers Men”.
Isn’t this just someone photoshopping to satirise Sevconian sophistry about club/company definitions?
john clarke says:
October 7, 2013 at 10:41 pm
You will have noted that I changed my post almost completely but I should have kept that point in that you raise. We are both in agreement nobody should get a death threat over a game of football, that’s the mindless mob.
neepheed
😆 you had copied and pasted it, ah well, you lot are to fast on here.
tcup 2012 says:
October 7, 2013 at 9:12 pm
============================
Do you seriously think these two people are worthy representatives and/or portray our Scottish league in a good wholesome positive light?
briggsbhoy says:
October 7, 2013 at 10:46 pm
‘..You will have noted that I changed my post ..’
——–
By the time I have completed a post, the whole feckin page has moved on !
(I think neepheid might be quite young with agile fingers and a very sharp mind.! )
Kicker Conspiracy says:
October 7, 2013 at 10:45 pm
1 0 Rate This
————
Why would people seeking some truth and justice fake newspaper articles? If it’s satire it should be posted as such. Fabricating news is the type of thing that goes on in the sinister world Mr Irvine inhabits.
BBC fleshing out the King story:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24434323
This question was asked last week, but I haven’t seen a reply.
I wondered if this came from the Cash Flow statements in the accounts (p13, also p27, p44) which show a net operational cash spend of £7.561m over 13 months, which works out at approx £600k per month.
However, that number is misleading as the incoming cash includes deferred income (advance season ticket and other sales for this season) of £8.156m (p24). Stripping that out increases net cash spend to over £15m, compatible with the figures of £19m income and £34m costs. This makes the cash burn rate over £1m per month.
But surely an ‘expert’ like Neil Patey would not make such a silly mistake???
Danish Pastry says:
October 7, 2013 at 11:12 pm
Kicker Conspiracy says:
October 7, 2013 at 10:45 pm
————
Why would people seeking some truth and justice fake newspaper articles? If it’s satire it should be posted as such. Fabricating news is the type of thing that goes on in the sinister world Mr Irvine inhabits.
—————————————————-
Agreed DP.
It’s just that describing Setanta as a club is so absurd it seemed the only rational explanation.
Angus
So I’m playing the troll ( a word banded about two easily) ?
Why ?Because i wont condemn someone until I have all the facts ?
If that is the case then I’m happy to be a Troll
BigGav says:
October 7, 2013 at 11:14 pm
But surely an ‘expert’ like Neil Patey would not make such a silly mistake???
++++++++++++
I’m trying to recall an instance of Patey getting anything right. No, sorry, can’t think of one.
I presume that his main qualification to be the goto man for all football related accountancy matters is his Ibrox season ticket. But maybe I’m being over cynical tonight. Which may be related to President Ogilvie’s sudden re-emergence into the limelight. I take that to mean that he thinks everyone has forgotten all about his somewhat conflicted status. If he thinks that, he’s very, very wrong.
Anyone else remember the story on RTC blog about Dave King and the £15m apparently showing up in his accounts from RFC(IL) ? The thing about this is, if it was true why have we never seen it in any of RFC(IL) accounts. It’s not as if you could hide a payment that large.
I think the story came about through the SARS investigation into his tax affairs.
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Kano 1000 on 26 July, 2012 at 12:52 said:
Good Afternoon,
So far, Mr Charles Green has predicted or suggested that the CVA proposed by Duff & Phelps would be accepted by the creditors of Rangers PLC (including HMRC), that the players employed by Rangers PLC are covered by the TUPE provisions, that the SPL would accede to the application of Servco and that ” The Rangers Football Club” would be playing in the SPL in season 2012/2013.
Mr Green was wrong on all counts.
Further, in the midst of his very public spat with Dave King ( of whom more later ) he stated on 9th June that he would be introducing £30M of working capital into Servco by 31st July 2012. That date is now less than one week away!
If we are to believe all that is printed in the papers ( and who on this blog does not? ) Mr Green is currently negotiating a licence to play football with the SFA, and that practically all matters are cleared up bar some trifling sideshows that are to be resolved with the SPL.
Surely he could not be wrong again?
This latter aspect is curious ( to me at least ) as I had thought it had been determined that Mr Green’s club would not be playing in the SPL, and so quite why and SFL club would even involve themselves with a league they were not members of is beyond me!
Except of course that this is “Rangers”– where nothing quite appears to be as it seems– or as is first presented– whether what is presented is to the “Rangers” fans, The SFA, The SPL, the “Rangers” Creditors, HMRC or anyone else.
The plain and simple truth is that there is no one on the “Rangers” side of this saga that you can trust! None of the parties involved- going way back in time– could be said to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Some may be deluded. Some may be mistaken. Some may be disingenuous. Some may be just plain wrong and some may be just plain crooked liars who will say and indeed do anything to meet their own- ill perceived- ends.
This leaves the football fans, the football authorities, the media people, the other teams in Scotland and elsewhere, HMRC and everyone else in the position where they just do not know what to believe, if anything, that emanates from Ibrox or those who seek to control events at Ibrox.
Most important of all is the fact that the football authorities in Scotland should, by now, have come to recognise this. Time after time in recent months, we have seen both the SFA and the SPL “officials” seemingly adhere to notions and proposals coming from Ibrox only for their members to point out that such notions and proposals cannot be accepted or acceptable to the rest of football.
And so it remains.
Take for example the demands of the fit and proper person test and the need for accounts. Green has to pass these tests to get any registration of any kind, but the majority of recent press reporting focuses on the notion that any investigation into dual contracts and improper registration of players by the SPL should be postponed and the public outburst by Master McCoist that “Rangers” will not accept the stripping of titles– Master McCoist of course enhancing his reputation for behaving like a spoilt brat who in olden times would have had his legs skelped for repeated disgraceful public behaviour.
Howwever let me suggest that all of that is a complete blind and takes the focus away from the need for accounts,accountability and the need for full disclosure as to who Charles Green really is!
There are very good reasons why Green & Co would go to endless lengths to try and get the SPL investigation into dual contracts postponed and it has nothing to do with the stripping of titles. It has to do with saving the skin of those who were at the core of the whole Ibrox debacle– including Master McCoist!
Lets start with the powers of the SPL Commission who would be investigating. Oh yes they can overturn results, they can withdraw awards and strip titles– but that is not all that they can do!
They can also:
G6.1.13 order any Club, Club Official or Player to pay compensation to any Club, Player, person or party;
G6.1.14 order any Club, Club Official or Player to comply with any obligation or direction;
and
G6.1.18 make such other direction, sanction or disposal, not expressly provided for in these Rules, as it shall think appropriate; and/or
G6.1.19 make such order as to expenses, including the expenses of the Board and/or, as the case may be, Commission and/or other party, as it thinks appropriate.
Furthermore, the commissions power of enquiy includes the ability to summons and take evidence from anyone it deems fit to do so, and in general it has all the powers necessary to get to the bottom of this particular saga.
Those powers are not just as strong as the powers of the soon to be liquidator of Rangers PLC, who has a range of powers to seek redress against former Directors, shadow Directors and anyone else involved in the running of the “club” or the company.
When the CVA was rejected by HMRC it was done so on the specific basis that there could be a proper liquidation which would provide “The best opportunity to protect taxpayers by allowing the potential investigation and pursuit of possible claims against those responsible for the company’s financial failures in recent years.”
In other words, Hector is coming.. and he is coming for a damn good look because he thinks ther are those at Ibrox who were at it, who have been caught, and who he is going to chase for a variety of reasons- not least to show the footballing world that widespread past practices in football, including EBT’s, are at an end, but also because it is readily apparent that Rangers Football Club are at it and have been more than dishonest for many years in many mnay ways.
Accordingly, an SPL enquiry right now is as welcome as a hole in the head!
But why should Green bother, he has nothing to do with the past regime? Correct?
Well, let’s go back to Dave King, who to be fair cannot be regarded as the bastion of truth and justice either.
King has claimed in the past that he cannot accpet that White simply handed over his shares to Green for £2 without retaining some control in the background. Further, in June Whyte himself claimed that his shares would form “part of the Charles Green consortium”, and of course despite repeated promises to do so, Green refuses to name who is investors actually are with the mysterious Blue Pitch Holdings remaing the largest single stakeholder with an alleged 23% of Servco.
Remember too, that King claimed that he would sue Whyte as he ( Whyte ) had a pre existing agreement with King to sell him his entire shareholding, and that this had been confirmed in writing by another Rangers PLC Director, namely Andrew Ellis!
Would an enquiry into dual contracts and their registration bring about new salvos in this particular set of disputes? You will note that all of this has gone remarkably quiet for the moment, but there are reasons to believe that various parties would have more than a passing interest in having a say, and others would want to see the whole thing far enough.
Consider too that in recent days, Whyte appears to have claimed that he was astounded when Lloyds did not offer any new financial assisstance to Rangers PLC once Whyte had cleared off the long standing debt by way of the Ticketus money. He claims that there was an understanding that once the old debt was paid off, then a new facility would have been available.
I wonder who told him that? Lloyds? Murray?
This would be the same David Murray who King no longer speaks to, and who King claims to have deceived him as far back as 2000 when King was persuaded to part with £20M as part of a share issue which was designed to get rid of a £40M debt at that time. Since then King claims that Murray mismanaged the Rangers business, did not disclose the full extent of the Rangers finances and took certain steps which benefited Murray and MIH which were to the financial detriment of Rangers PLC! If true, then that all brings the big F word to mind– and a don’t mean the one that rhymes with duck!
Do we really have a situation where Whyte and King both claim to have been deceived about what would happen if they invested money? And was Murray completely unaware of Whyte, who of course duped him, and the problems surrounding King’s assets and ability to trade as a result of the investigations by SARS?
Looking at the KIng/Murray/ Rangers relationship makes for very odd reading, and I am indebted to others who provided some financial info yesterday.
King arrived in South Africa in 1976 having been transferred there by his then employers- The Weir Group- Jim McColl.
He eventually strikes out on his own and by 2000 has made more than a few quid but has tax issues.
He has retained his affection for Rangers, and is persuaded by Murray ( alledgedly ) to invest the £20M in the Rangers share issue of that time– Rangers having severe debt problems at the time. So let’s get this straight here. King, a shrewd businessman with tax troubles, spends £20M in return for which he gets a minority shareholding in Rangers PLC and a non executive Directorship at the club.
Pause there: If £20M gets you a very minor shareholding just how did Murray- and more importantly King- value the club? Remember King still had this shareholding when the company went into Admin in February this year.
Not long after King invests his £20M, the annual accounts for Rangers show a trading loss for the previous year of £16.3M.
Yet, in separate papers produced by King, he claims to have received the equivalent of roughly £15.75M by way of income from Rangers PLC for the period ending 2001? Eh- he only arrived in 2000!
Note– this is not repayment of a loan, nor is it money for the sale of his shares ( which he still has ) nor to my knowledge is it a dividend on the shares– everyone else who was a Rangers shareholder must have received an equivalent amount so this would run to tens of Millions, and as a dividend can only be paid out of “profits” the sum is a total mystery.
Further, as pointed out in Paul McConville’s blog ( a nod and more in that direction ) it is unclear whether this sum was received by King net of tax or gross. If it was net of tax, then King didn’t receive £15m- he actually received £25M.
So– here you have a guy with major tax issues in South Africa, with assets frozen including planes and so on, who has “access” to a large sum through a company. He sticks £20M into Rangers PLC in 2000 but by 2001 he has received back either £15M net or £25M gross– but he keeps his shares and Directorship?
Mmmmm? Is it all making sense to you?
Would an enquiry into player registrations touch on that?
Well it would certainly stretch back to the time period, and it would certainly look at individual transfers at the time and how they were funded and indeed accounted for in the books. It would also look at who conducted them and register them? It might even look at who was the company secretary at the time?
However, beyond that, the Liquidator in his investigations might just want to have sight of what the SPL through Harper McLeod solicitors uncovered which then takes me to the next point.
Rangers went into Liquidation with huge losses.
The Liquidator, as a bare minimum, will want to know who actually got paid at the expense of the creditors ( especially HMRC ) and why. Now it is one thing to pay £y to Mr X if he was contractually entitled to it, but it is another thing altogether to pay £y to Mr X by way of a discretionary gift, especially if it brings about losses which means not paying any tax!
Within a certain period, the Liquidator could undo any such financial transaction- he doesn’t have to show fraud, or negligence or anything else- he coukd just seek to undo preferential payments that were not in the interests of the creditors.
Of course, in this instance the EBT payments were made to the MIH employee benefits trust- and so it could be that the liquidator would be claiming the money back from there in the first instance– and who knows what is in the MIH employee benefits trust by way of money, assets or indeed records.
However, as such trusts are normally administered by professional independent trustees, I would have thought that the standard of record keeping would be pretty could– if only to protect the trustees themselves.
So why did Dave King receive money when the company was making a loss? Was he really just making a short term loan to Murray for some reason in return for a nominal stake in the club, a non exec directorship and a few quid in interest? or was he moving some money through the Rangers account and getting it back shortly after with in a different form with an “admin” fee having been deducted?
And separately, what do we make of Craig Whyte claiming that he paid off TWO accounts with Lloyds– one which was circa £20M in debt in the name of Rangers PLC, and another which was in another name which was £10M in debt? Is that to be believed and if so what is that all about? Did Rangers PLC guarantee another debt, or pledge assets in security of another debt?
Given that an enquiry with such wide powers could stray into matters which are germain to all of this, and that Green may well be the agent provocateur for any of these characters, can you see the sense in kicking all and any enquiries as far down the line as possible?
Further, dare I mention Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986.
This states that if a company is placed into insolvent Liquidation (ie Compulsory or Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation), directors or shadow directors in the preceding twelve months are prohibited from being directors or shadow directors of a company with a name by which the liquidating company was known by in that period of twelve months or a name which is so similar as to suggest an association.
So if John Smith Limited is placed into Liquidation, a director of that company cannot simply become a director of John Smith (Newco) Limited
Accordingly if any of the bods mentioned above ( or Paul Murray, or Walter (maybe) or Ally (maybe) or any number of others who may be deemed to control contracts and carry out other functions worthy of a Director of Rangers PLC, are behind the scenes with Servco and in a position of influence whether as Director or shadow Director– then Servco cannot use the word “Rangers” in its title!!!
Would the SFA or the SPL really want that? How would it go down with SKY etc if Servco were to officially play as Servco and not “The Rangers Football Club”.
No, I am sorry, any examination of this whole situation points to people fighting for their lives on an individual basis, with much to fear of any enquiry of any kind which has independent people sitting in judgement. The stripping of titles is a concern as it affects history– a history which Charles Green said would be wiped away and flushed down the toilet if Liquidation occurred. However, I would wager that any of the players in this murky little farce would sell that history in an instant to save their own skins if it comes close to their being accused of some naughty stuff!
The football authorities need to start with complete full and total disclosure as to who Green’s investors and partners are, and none of the previous players need step forward as they are all tainted and in any event will all be subject to the scrutiny of the liquidator and of the legal provisions surrounding phoenixing.
History will show that the footballing authorities in Scotland were duped, deceived and or used by Rangers Football club and its officials for the better part of two decades. The same football authorities cannot afford to be so used ,duped and deceived again by the same people hiding in the shadows. With all the various non footballing enquiries we have at the moment the truth- or something approaching it will eventually out– and those at Hampden cannot afford to be made to look even more stupid by that truth.
They should also remember that this whole affair is about to be looked into in the greatest deatil by those who have absolutely no interest in football, tv contracts, reputations, and the footballing old boy network.
It is not only football clubs who can be stripped of titles and positions.