A Guest Blog by Auldheid for TSFM
Honesty requires both transparency and accountability. In pursuit of honest, transparent and accountable governance of Scottish football, and only that objective, the following letter, with attachments, has been sent to SPFL lawyers, CEO and SPFL Board Members.
An honest game free from deception is what football supporters of all clubs want. It is the action the letter and attachments prompt that will tell us if there is any intention of providing it.
It is a response on behalf of readers here on TSFM, but the sentiment which underpins it is almost universally held amongst fans of all clubs. Importantly it is a response directly to all clubs, especially those with a SPFL Board member, that will make the clubs and the football authorities aware just how seriously supporters take the restoration of trust in an honest game, honestly governed.
The annexes to the letter contain information which may be published at a later date. We thought it appropriate to first await any response from any of the recipients.
Please also draw this to the attention of friends who are not internet using supporters and love their football and their club.
Auldheid
__________________________________________________________________
Harper MacLeod
The Ca’d’oro
45 Gordon Street
Glasgow
G1 3PE
19 Feb 2014
Copy sent to SPFL CEO and Board Members *
Dear Mr McKenzie
We the contributors to The Scottish Football Monitoring web site write to you in your capacity as the legal adviser employed by Harper MacLeod to assist the Scottish Premier League (now the Scottish Professional Football League) to gather evidence and investigate the matter of incorrect player registrations involving concealed side letters and employee benefit trusts as defined in the eventual Lord Nimmo Smith Commission.
We note from the then SPL announcement that set up an enquiry that the initial date range to be covered was from the inception of the SPL in July 1998, but that was changed to 23 November 2000 because, according to our understanding, that is the date of the first side letter supplied by Rangers Administrators Duff and Phelps. It is also our understanding that the SPL asked for all documentation relating to side letters as well as the letters themselves.
It is a matter of public record that Rangers Administrators failed to supply the SPL all relevant documentation. Indeed the seriousness of not complying with SPL requests was the subject of an admonition of Rangers/Duff and Phelps from Lord Nimmo Smith under Issue 4 of his Commission.
Quite how serious that failure to comply or concealment was in terms of misleading the Commission and so Lord Nimmo Smith can now be assessed from the information contained at Annexes 1 to 10 attached.
We think that as legal advisers to the SPL (now the SPFL) you have a responsibility to make them aware that their Commission was misled by the concealment of documents starting on 3 September 1999, and signed by current SFA President Campbell Ogilvie, whose silence on the ebt matters referred to in the attached annexes* is questionable at the very least.
This letter but not attachments is being posted on The Scottish Football Monitor web site as this is matter for all of Scottish football and support for the issue being pursued to establish the truth can be gauged by responses from supporters from all Scottish clubs once the letter has been published there.
A copy of this letter with Annexes has also been sent to the SPFL CEO and members of the SPFL Board.
Acknowledgement of receipt and reply can be sent by e mail to:
(Address supplied)
Yours in sport
On behalf of The Scottish Football Monitor contributors and readers. http://www.tsfm.org.uk/
Addressees copied in
Neil Doncaster CEO
The Scottish Professional Football League
Hampden Park
Glasgow G42 9DE
Eric Riley (Celtic),
The Celtic Football Club
Celtic Park
Glasgow G40 3RE
Stephen Thompson (Dundee United),
Tannadice Park,
Tannadice Street,
Dundee, DD3 7JW
Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen);
Aberdeen Football Club plc
Pittodrie Stadium
Pittodrie Street
Aberdeen AB24 5QH
Les Gray (Hamilton),
Hamilton Academical FC
New Douglas Park
Hamilton
ML3 0FT
Mike Mulraney (Alloa)
Alloa Athletic FC
Clackmannan Road
Recreation Park
Alloa FK10 1RY
Bill Darroch (Stenhousemuir).
Stenhousemuir F.C.
Ochilview Park
Gladstone Road
Stenhousemuir
Falkirk
FK5 4QL
We had an administration like no other followed by a liquidation that the football authorities and MSM have contrived to ignore. The industrial shredding habit acquired by D&P had to be covering something up. If part of that cover up was evidence of Ogilvie’s involvement and if any of your documents Auldheid can demonstrate just how deep he was in it then I’d be prepared to regard that as nuclear. Well done again.
Simply cannot praise Auldheid too highly. Absolutely excellent initiative.
Meanwhile, the 20th anniversary of another excellent initiative – this time by Fergus McCann.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/mccanns-anniversary-message-highlights-role-of-fans-in-keeping-club-alive.23554783
A reminder that we reap what we sow.
Fergus sowed wisely and
Celtic have certainly been rewarded with a rich harvest.
I sincerely hope that Auldheid’s endeavours will bring the appropriate reward.
TSFM, can we establish who launched the DoS attack and if so, involve the Police to bring their paymasters to justice? Way too fishy that we are pinned down during the UTT, the IA case and other iconic moments at the SFAs pet project.
Absolutely brilliant Aulheid.
I suspect the lawyers will hide behind client confidentiality and give nothing more than a token acknowledgement.
As for the rest the miasma of institutionalised corruption will lead to them sticking two fingers up to us.
I hope not but this is the kind of approach which ought to produce results if anyone has a sense of decency.
As for King he is not putting any money in and he knows full well who owns the property.
I hope the South African authorities are watching the movement of any of his money. In the event that he does have anything he will need to get someone to front for him as he will not be a fit and proper person.
I applaud your dilligence and perseverance but i think any attempt to bring the truth into the open will be ignored by the powers that be as too many were complicit in the changing and ignoring of rules for the benefit of 1 club.
manandboy says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 08:06
2 0 Rate This
Simply cannot praise Auldheid too highly. Absolutely excellent initiative.
————-
Second that, and I’m sure he carries the backing of the entire TSFM blog fraternity.
Just a thought Auldheid, would it be an idea to upload the extra materials to Scribd? I understand the need to keep the blog open, but documents on Scribd wouldn’t affect this blog. It might make the discussion of specifics a bit more informed and allow any journos looking in to reference the facts.
Danish, facts, journalists, in the same sentence, seriously?
Great initiative Auldheid. I really hope someone has the cojones to respond.
Excellent letter, apologies if this is a bit pretentious, but it’s important in both negotiations and letters of complaint (CAB basic training!) to be polite, concise and get to the point excluding war stories and insults/p*ss taking, not many achieve this! One small point: a direct question and/or statement of what you want from the addressee.
Well done Auldheid and TSFM
This kind of initiative raises the bar
I don’t think we will get an easy victory but if we see this as a first step then bit by but we will build momentum
Maybe we should send the pack to all clubs and have a media pack available
Certainly send one to The Drum and Roy Greenslade
Paulo says
No idea from whom the attack originated, but it only inconvenienced us for a day or so. I also don’t want to jump to the “Rangers Bus” conclusion. Although we are not yet back home, we are still operational. Things should get sorted by the weekend, after which I will publish a full account of what happened.
The NSA protest banner at th ebottom of the page is a WordPress.com optional feature which I thought worthy of inclusion. Sorry if it scared anyone 🙂
Auldheid – what can I say? You have soldiered-on when most others would have given up and not only pursued an almost impossible task to establish the truth but you have succeeded.
We must all now play our part in bringing that truth to the: ‘Free Peoples of the World’ although I’ve never really been sure that term has applied to Scottish Football Supporters of late given the corruption which has established itself at the heart of our game.
We are kept in the dark but now, knowing your careful methods and presentation style, I am sure there must be enough ammunition in the annexes to blow the deflection away along with those who secretly pursue their own agendas.
just think we have an opportunity to cleanse our national game and make it one we can all be proud of again and allow us to bequeath that legacy to all the generations who will follow us in supporting the game and their own individual teams.
@Auldheid
Obviously you will be thinking about distribution of the letter and what about, for starters, putting it on club/fan websites for the various teams who have reps on the various professional boards and the respective local papers might be interested. Tbh there might be more hope with them than SMSM.
Auldheid…Chapeau!!
You are a credit to the game of Football. And to this site.
Just on the UTT. Many thanks from a distant admirer of the work of the court reporters. If I am to make a request its to say that it is The MG’s representative (I think Mr Thornhill?) ‘defence’ that will probably be the most enlightening so if someone was targetting a pivotal time to attend that would surely be it.
He has, I believe, three options. Complete denial -well its worked up until now, some kind of acknowledgement or the third option to throw the principle wrongdo-ers, a certain football club which is legally deceased anyway, to the wolves and try and slip MG’s staff under the radar.
Following on from the application to strike off Sevco 5088 there is now to be a Gazette notice next week. Time for a challenge from any other interested party?
GAZ1(A) 04/03/2014 FIRST GAZETTE NOTICE FOR VOLUNTARY STRIKE-OFF
DS01 18/02/2014 APPLICATION FOR STRIKING-OFF
Still no sign of TRFC annual accounts due today.
Scottish Football needs a strong Companies House – but on past performance we have little chance – so the MSM needs to ask why TRFC accounts have not been lodged on time or at the very last moment possible (if they do turn up today). Not the normal practice of a company in good standing….
@Auldheid:
I’m jockybhoy and I approve this message.
Excellent initiative!
I’ve retweeted, facebook shared, and issued through our mailing list too (Carluke Shamrock CSC)
How can we help further, Audlheid?
I notice you’ve published open letter but held back attachments at this point.
So do we wait on the solicitors’ initial response, and take things from there?
Letter templates and so on, for all fans to use and post to solicitors, SPFL, club CEOs etc.?
Keen to help out with this, but don’t want to muddy any planned tactics.
#HH
Richard
smugas says: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 09:25
Just on the UTT. Many thanks from a distant admirer of the work of the court reporters. If I am to make a request its to say that it is The MG’s representative (I think Mr Thornhill?) ‘defence’ that will probably be the most enlightening so if someone was targetting a pivotal time to attend that would surely be it.
He has, I believe, three options. Complete denial -well its worked up until now, some kind of acknowledgement or the third option to throw the principle wrongdo-ers, a certain football club which is legally deceased anyway, to the wolves and try and slip MG’s staff under the radar.
==================================
The MG defence will seek to restate very specific precedents that suit their aims, probably from cases like Sempra and Dextra. I got the impression that Andrew Thornhill knows his stuff and will be well prepared, unlike Roddy Thomson who seemed all over the place at times with a number of wrong page references as he sought to link documents to transcripts of questions and answers.
He may attempt a rebuttal of the credibility argument against McMillan by saying that his credibility is a matter of opinion rather than fact and that it is not unreasonable for him to have acted in an adversarial way in the FTTT (as was stated by the “majority” in the FTTT decision).
I think there is always a tendency to believe that someone is guilty from information that is aired in court in the early stages of a trial, when interest is at it highest. That is only natural as you are only hearing from the prosecution side at that stage. It is only when the defence gets an equal opportunity to sway the jurors that you get a more balanced view of a case.
I’d suggest that we should continue to maintain a watching brief for the moment before getting carried away in our praise or condemnation of either side.
I’m jockybhoy!
On a serious note, is there any place I can look at the supporting documentation that goes with the letter? Is there more that people can do to get this message out? I am happy to help if I can.
I see that the RIFC share price has been on an upward trend for a few weeks now, it has reached 30p today from a low of 24p, admittedly on thin trading.
Am I being too cynical in thinking that the share price reflects the improved chances of RIFC getting rid of TRFC once and for all, while retaining the properties? If that can be done, and soon, then the shares look cheap at 30p. If it isn’t done, then all the future holds for the shares is dilution, as cash calls are made to keep TRFC afloat.
I think the market believes the football side is about to be ditched. I can’t make sense of a rising share price otherwise.
http://www.scotzine.com/2014/02/is-dave-kings-scaremongering-part-of-a-long-term-plan-to-buy-club-on-cheap/
Just saw this after my previous post. It sort of ties in with my own thoughts on where this is going.
I think it is important to highlight the central thrust of Auldheid’s correspondence. That should not be that Rangers cheated and deserve to be punished, however pertinent that point of view may be. The thrust should be that an inquiry instituted by the football authorities to ensure integrity within the sport was misled on points of fact. The law should be applied fairly and equally. Rangers may be in the dock in this case but we should not mistake the felon for the crime. We have obviously built up a body of knowledge concerning Rangers but the precedents set now will be carried on into the future. We should not apply strictures that our own clubs could not achieve if they at some point found themselves in a similar position.
Auldheid
Can you clarify if the source of Annexes 1 to 10 has impeccable provenance ?
smugas says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 09:25
Just on the UTT. Many thanks from a distant admirer of the work of the court reporters. If I am to make a request its to say that it is The MG’s representative (I think Mr Thornhill?) ‘defence’ that will probably be the most enlightening so if someone was targetting a pivotal time to attend that would surely be it.
He has, I believe, three options. Complete denial -well its worked up until now, some kind of acknowledgement or the third option to throw the principle wrongdo-ers, a certain football club which is legally deceased anyway, to the wolves and try and slip MG’s staff under the radar.
==================================================
Funny, our talented and lucid court reportage had been making me wonder about Thornhill’s approach.
Normally his case would have been quite easy as he would have relied on the finely crafted unanimous Tribunal Decision produced by fine legal minds which took account of all the evidence and produced cast-iron statements of fact and law which displayed a full understanding of all the applicable legal precedents to reach an unassailable verdict.
And what did he get? A load of manure with no straw to build his case 🙂 I believe that ‘murmuring’ a judge is no longer a criminal offence but I have to observe that all I could detect from the FTTT Majority Decision was the murmurings and gentle snores of 2 Duffers fast asleep on the bench.
It seems, in view of the statements at the UTT being made about their fumbling and at times almost incoherent approach to their duty, that their back of a fag packet Opinion will prove of little use to Thornhill.
And let’s not forget Our Heidi, whose Minority Dissenting Opinion was not only laughed-at by every Bear but rejected as rubbish by allegedly in-the-know expert Rangers posters on various sites including Scotslawthoughts. They did point-by-point demolition jobs on her evidence and generally smeared her character and her professional abilities and made it clear that she wasn’t fit to enjoy a slumber party with the other 2 pillars of the Scottish legal system.
I remember wondering at the time which PR firm was paying for the character assasination?
So, back to Thornhill: It appears he will have little assistance in presenting his case from the rather sub-standard offering from the The Duffers.
Of course he could now argue in support of the findings that The Duffers should have reached to support their conviction that HMRC had got it all wrong. The problem with that is that he would be agreeing with all the points that Heidi had made although her conclusion was that The Duffers had erred. There’s also the inexplicable decision of the Two Duffers not to reject and forensically destroy Heidi’s Opinion. That perhaps is the strangest thing that arose out of the FTTT IMO.
So that’s a dangerous route for Thornhill to go down. He really has a major problem on his hands as far as I can see.
As to throwing a certain football club under the train – well that’s a possibility and if the bank is picking-up the legal tab and would be responsible for future appeal costs they might well be tempted to dump the club – which some believe is still alive with history intact – and save the group businesses.
However – I have forgotten how the tax bill, penalties and interest are split between the Murray Group and the football club. If the Murray Group owe a wheen to HMRC then there might not be an option of dumping all on the club so it’s either win the case or the whole shebang gets derailed.
Easyjambo,
Absolutely. My point was just that it will be interesting to see if Mr Thornhill chooses to fight on all fronts – to maintain that the payments were legal per se regardless of their purpose and source of funds – or chooses to give a little on certain areas of mis management, and to say all matters Rangers would probably be casting the net a little wide, with a view to shoring up a central defendable core which I loosely define as Murray Group’s less public function.
neepheid says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:15
“Just saw this after my previous post. It sort of ties in with my own thoughts on where this is going.”
————————-
Another hard hitting article following on from the Ranger’s Media surprisingly candid appraisal yesterday. There seems to have been an outbreak of common sense. It would be difficult to differentiate these articles from true journalism though obviously Scotzine has a far finer track record. I note that the Scotzine journalist has a wee favour for Graham Wallace but he is not labouring the point.
If it continues like this you won’t need to resurrect the site TSFM
beatipacificiscotia says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:05
I’m jockybhoy!
On a serious note, is there any place I can look at the supporting documentation that goes with the letter? Is there more that people can do to get this message out? I am happy to help if I can.
===========================================================
I’m desperate to see the supporting docs as well and knowing Auldheid’s work I have no doubt that he believes their provenance to be unimpeachable.
But to establish his bona fides I think he is right not to release this info to anyone, at this stage, so as not to give any excuse for those he is trying to engage with the slightest excuse to claim ‘bad faith’.
I don’t suspect the motivation of anyone who might ask for a quick ‘peek’ but IMO it would put Auldheid in an impossible decision to decide who should get a look and who shouldn’t. So, although my erse is in buttons, I fully agree with how he is going about this and it reflects the approach he always takes which is well-reflected by his moniker 🙂
Great effort Auldheid your work will hopefully be rewarded and the whole shenanigans at Hampden will be exposed for the rotten corrupt cabal that it is.
@ecobhoy have you seen the latest from footballtaxhavens it is a desperate attempt to again undermine your work on Westthorn.
They have spent money for a geological report from the coal board for 40 Westhorn Drive, and then forged two documents to look like it is Westthorn Recreational Ground.
If you know the area 40 Westhorn Drive is the road that runs between McDonald’s and the car showroom and is about 800 metres from the land Celtic purchased.
This is a desperate act and surely now the beard will see through it.
Do you think that by doing this they have committed fraud and should Celtic act to stop this nonsense.
Well done Auldheid and TSFM, it gives a great deal of hope that the conflicted mess at the SFA and MSM can be sorted. Paul McConville would be rightly proud of you.
See Scotzine giving their opinion on the King £20 million loss. They describe a £20m investment and a £12-15m depending on exchange rate undeclared repayment the other way.
Need clarification on this point since you would think, were that the case, that the current club custodians wouldn’t be slow in leaking the information to try and stymie the growing fan supoprt for the glib and shameless one, no?
Sorry, in the interests of accuracy, Scotzine report a £12-15m “Income from Rangers….that was not in the accounts” as opposed to a formal repayment as such.
Is it just me or does everything at Rangers seem to work in multiples of £14m?
Any sign of the accounts yet?
I’m guessing Auldheid is using Charlotte Fakeover material, this after the court ruling the other week.
Auldhied,
Yons a belter, as someone commented on the previous thread.
One thing I would say is that a request for any lawyer to do something is almost exclusively met with a blank, unless they are being paid andor instructed by a client.
The reply should thus originate with the SPL (now branded the SPFL) and may or may not come via HM, their lawyers.
I would not take non-reply from HM as anything more than that.
Non-reply from the SPL/SPFL on the other hand, and from the clubs on the board of that league body, is something different altogether. There should be an onus upon them in the interests of openness and transparency, as one of the bodies running the game. There should also be similar upon the clubs given the request comes from their own fans/paying customers.
Also,
The LNS SPLIC based its findings upon logic (some see it as twisted to an extent but in any event …) that requires the EBTs as defined to be legal tax avoidance. This was the case at the time of the SPLIC, due to the FTT findings.
Should the UTT overturn this finding of legality, will the SPLIC be at least re-examined, I wonder?
An excellent letter, Auldheid, and an important step in our efforts for honest governance of the sport we love. As you say, the response, from all recipients, will be the most important, and enlightening, indication of just how honest the governance is. Hopefully it will convince those involved that we are more than a mere nuisance and we are not just going to go away just because they say it’s time to move on.
Thank you for the hard work you do on our behalf.
Fantastic stuff Auldheid, penned with precision and dignity.
neepheid says: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:06
Is it not as simple as two different fan groups have committed to buying as many shares as come on the market in an effort to gain clout and possible representatin on the board? In that respect you would expect the shares to rise in value.
One of the tests for this splendid work is whether it will be reported or even alluded to, in the mainstream media. If all previous requests for clarification of procedures and decisions around this clumpany liquidation farce have been met with a stonewalling and obfuscation approach, then we may expect more of the same.
Auldheid & co’s tactics have been clever in the use of cc addressees but, if there is a “no comment” reply or a “this is subject to secret investigation/ client confidentiality” defence, coupled with press and TV refusal to acknowledge the fans concerns, then we will know just how large a potential conspiracy we are up against.
Tomorrow’s newspapers may, for once, be interesting.
easyjambo 10:04
“The MG defence will seek to restate very specific precedents that suit their aims, probably from cases like Sempra and Dextra. I got the impression that Andrew Thornhill knows his stuff and will be well prepared, unlike Roddy Thomson who seemed all over the place at times with a number of wrong page references as he sought to link documents to transcripts of questions and answers.”
===========================================
First of all thanks to all of our intrepid reporters.
Secondly, like others, I believed that the FTTT would surely find that the best that could be said of the MIH EBT scheme was that it was intended to operate as a (legitimate) tax avoidance scheme but it was so poorly administered that it became a tax evasion scheme in its operation.
Some comments on the site suggesting that it’s a shoo-in for HMRC’s appeal because the majority decision of the FTTT on the MIH case, as described by Mr Thomson, was so weak and full of holes. It didn’t work for HMRC first time round despite Dr Poon’s extensive and surgical evisceration of key MIH witnesses and her assessment of their motivation. However, as easyjambo notes above, the expensive Mr Thornhill knows his stuff and won (mostly) last time round. Mr Thomson lost (mostly) last time round and I don’t think it was a tactical loss so we could arrive at the UTT.
Hold the jelly/ice cream/popcorn for now. After all, M’lud Doherty is a lawyer.
Phil now tweeting:
TRFC in pre-admin mode.Board meeting on Monday.Controlled admin planned which will leave Laxey with a much larger piece of the action.
smugas says: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:54
============================
Re Dave King’s income from Rangers.
Scotzine is relying on the SA Court’s assessment of income in respect of RFC and not anything from Rangers accounts.
Personally, I do not believe that Dave King did receive any income from Rangers and that the SA Court made the assessment that his £20M investment in RFC in 2000 was made from untaxed income that should have been declared to SARS.
Are there accounts due today? Some posts on another site (yes, I am seeing other sites) stated it was the deadline for the club (as opposed to company) accounts…
Carl31 says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:38
“The LNS SPLIC based its findings upon logic (some see it as twisted to an extent but in any event …) that requires the EBTs as defined to be legal tax avoidance. This was the case at the time of the SPLIC, due to the FTT findings.
Should the UTT overturn this finding of legality, will the SPLIC be at least re-examined, I wonder?”
++++++++++++
The very questions I would ask. There are differences in interpretation of the LNS result. The sporting advantage statement was based on the fact that, at that time, the EBT scheme was considered legal and therefore open to any member club to utilise. Should the UTT decide the EBT was an illegal attempt to avoid tax, then that changes the game. An illegal tax scheme clearly should not have been used and was not an option to other member clubs.
If new evidence has been found that was not available to the original inquiry, then the inquiry should be re-opened. I remember it was stated that the inquiry would not be reopened if the tax case result changed, but other new evidence is surely a different matter.
There is no question that Rangers cheated Scottish football for the best part of 15yrs. It is time the world knows it, and suitable punishments are handed out.
Excellent letter Auldheid, thank you.
Its fantastic to see some direct action happening in the name of the blog – something I’ve really hoped we might achieve in time.
I will find some time later to email Duncan Fraser at Afc to ask if he has received the correspondance and urge him to raise this with the SPFL board.
I doff my bunnet to you Auldheid, marvellous work.
I am however, not confident you will elicit any kind of response.
I have written polite, questioning letters/e-mails to the SPFL/SFA/ and have not even has the courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt.
Good luck.
Phil’s latest thoughts re the possibility of Administration and Dave King
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/dave-king-makes-his-move/#more-4414
SFTB says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:18
9 0 Rate This
One of the tests for this splendid work is whether it will be reported or even alluded to, in the mainstream media. If all previous requests for clarification of procedures and decisions around this clumpany liquidation farce have been met with a stonewalling and obfuscation approach, then we may expect more of the same.
Auldheid & co’s tactics have been clever in the use of cc addressees but, if there is a “no comment” reply or a “this is subject to secret investigation/ client confidentiality” defence, coupled with press and TV refusal to acknowledge the fans concerns, then we will know just how large a potential conspiracy we are up against.
Tomorrow’s newspapers may, for once, be interesting.
===============================
I wouldn’t hold your breath, it’s not as though TSFM has “official” status, you know like Sons of Struth, RST, Union of whatever fans etc. so we’re unlikely to be worthy of a story.
Thanks EJ. I concur but would love to be proved wrong. Were it not the case (and the repayments had been made legitimately of course) the Ibrox press machine would have been in full scale denial mode long before now.
chancer67 says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:40
29 0 Rate This
Great effort Auldheid your work will hopefully be rewarded and the whole shenanigans at Hampden will be exposed for the rotten corrupt cabal that it is.
@ecobhoy have you seen the latest from footballtaxhavens it is a desperate attempt to again undermine your work on Westthorn.
They have spent money for a geological report from the coal board for 40 Westhorn Drive, and then forged two documents to look like it is Westthorn Recreational Ground.
If you know the area 40 Westhorn Drive is the road that runs between McDonald’s and the car showroom and is about 800 metres from the land Celtic purchased.
This is a desperate act and surely now the beard will see through it.
Do you think that by doing this they have committed fraud and should Celtic act to stop this nonsense
======================
This Westhorn Drive didn’t even exist until about ten years ago
Congatulations Auldheid,
Your letter correctly targets the personal culpability of The Conflicted One whose current position is so compromised as to be utterly untenable.
What are your plans for publicising / circulating your letter throughout Scottish football club and fan websites and the mainstream media, including radio and television broadcasters?
Should LNS have been copied in on the correspondence as he was the one they duped?
Maybe someone can answer me this…. Regards TRFC a wholly owned subsidiary of the RIFC…
What would be the benefits of Admin versus full sequestration (of TRFC)…All the assets are owned by RIFC I believe.
bawsman says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:45
I doff my bunnet to you Auldheid, marvellous work.
I am however, not confident you will elicit any kind of response.
I have written polite, questioning letters/e-mails to the SPFL/SFA/ and have not even has the courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt.
Good luck.
===============
I’m hoping that there will be many folk taking the action Mattyrothy intends to take in the post preceding yours.
If not you may well be right. and we can all go home.
goosygoosy says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:21
Auldheid
Can you clarify if the source of Annexes 1 to 10 has impeccable provenance
======================
Well a judge gave material from the same source the all clear last week regardless of its provenance.
I understand that Channel 4 are sure about its veracity though.
Excellent work Auldheid.
Whilst I was figuring out how to get back in… I had a nostalgic browse through the Random Thoughts site.
Anyone know if the following is still under consideration, been dropped, forgotten about etc.
The Scottish Professional Football League board is considering pursuing Rangers for £250,000.
The amount relates to a fine levied by an independent Scottish Premier League commission on Rangers Football Club PLC’s (RFC PLC) use of a tax scheme.
ernie says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 13:01
Well two local journalists rewarded for their integrity and rightly so, have been pointed at it but it is dependent on the story which basically is LNS was misled because those commissioning were too being broadcast more widely.
The matter LNS was investigating was bad enough in terms of undermining our game but for those in charge to try and cover up the degree and culpability will kill it for many.
jockybhoy says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:28
Are there accounts due today? Some posts on another site (yes, I am seeing other sites) stated it was the deadline for the club (as opposed to company) accounts…
——————————————————————————————————————-
Jocky, Yes, TRFC annual accounts are due today :
Name & Registered Office:
THE RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED
IBROX STADIUM
150 EDMISTON DRIVE
GLASGOW
G51 2XD
Company No. SC425159
Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 29/05/2012
Accounting Reference Date: 30/06
Last Accounts Made Up To: (NO ACCOUNTS FILED)
Next Accounts Due: 28/02/2014
Last Return Made Up To: 29/05/2013
Next Return Due: 26/06/2014
The parent company full accounts are some time off yet :
Name & Registered Office:
RANGERS INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL CLUB PLC
IBROX STADIUM
150 EDMISTON DRIVE
GLASGOW
G51 2XD
Company No. SC437060
Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 16/11/2012
Accounting Reference Date: 30/06
Last Accounts Made Up To: 30/06/2013 (GROUP)
Next Accounts Due: 31/12/2014
Last Return Made Up To: 16/11/2013
Next Return Due: 14/12/2014
Mortgage: Number of charges: ( 0 outstanding / 0 satisfied / 0 part satisfied )
Previous Names:
Date of change Previous Name
27/11/2012 RANGERS FOOTBALL PLC
Scottish football needs a strong Arbroath.
Fantastic work by all concerned I just wish the MSM would have the guts to run with it and bring about the cleansing of our game that is so badly needed to restore confidence that it is a fair and level playing field we are competing on
Danish Pastry says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 08:25
Yup I was thinking on those lines.
AH
A superb initiative. A finer service to Scottish fitba will be hard to find if it all goes to the plan you obviously have.
ernie says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 08:30
Great initiative Auldheid. I really hope someone has the cojones to respond.
Excellent letter, apologies if this is a bit pretentious, but it’s important in both negotiations and letters of complaint (CAB basic training!) to be polite, concise and get to the point excluding war stories and insults/p*ss taking, not many achieve this! One small point: a direct question and/or statement of what you want from the addressee.
===============================
I want him to say “Houston we have a problem”
Hi everyone,
I’ve just started to re-read the HMRC v RFC plc FTT Decision of November 2012 and would be grateful if one of you could (re)post a link to a reliable list of the colouful characters refered to therein.
Thanks in advance.
bogsdollox says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 13:30
Should LNS have been copied in on the correspondence as he was the one they duped?
=====================
Perhaps but then again maybe better he finds out he is the talk of the steamie.
Surely H&M would realise the implications for LNS and let him know, rather than he find out from his local butcher?
sanoffymessssoitizzhizzemdyfonedrapolis says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 13:16
I’ve placed it in the hands of the Almighty God Twitter and its angels 🙂
Ally, complaining about a skelf, is sitting on the fence in his Presser.
Aaam only here to talk about the fitba
beatipacificiscotia says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:40
Carl31 says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:38
“The LNS SPLIC based its findings upon logic (some see it as twisted to an extent but in any event …) that requires the EBTs as defined to be legal tax avoidance. This was the case at the time of the SPLIC, due to the FTT findings.
Should the UTT overturn this finding of legality, will the SPLIC be at least re-examined, I wonder?”
++++++++++++
The very questions I would ask. There are differences in interpretation of the LNS result. The sporting advantage statement was based on the fact that, at that time, the EBT scheme was considered legal and therefore open to any member club to utilise. Should the UTT decide the EBT was an illegal attempt to avoid tax, then that changes the game. An illegal tax scheme clearly should not have been used and was not an option to other member clubs.
If new evidence has been found that was not available to the original inquiry, then the inquiry should be re-opened. I remember it was stated that the inquiry would not be reopened if the tax case result changed, but other new evidence is surely a different matter.
There is no question that Rangers cheated Scottish football for the best part of 15yrs. It is time the world knows it, and suitable punishments are handed out.
=====================
If the UTT finds in favour of HMRC then ALL ebts are irregular.
If it finds for MIH/Rangers then only the ebts to De Boer and Flo paid in 2000 to 2002/03 are irregular.
Either way LNS and the implications of his judgement cannot stand. It may have been legally correct on the evidence presented but it was always an affront to sporting ethics and sooner or later ethics win.
However as the blog title says the aim here is an honest game honestly governed and I put that way above any further punishment. If you listen to Stuart Cosgrove in his podcast he mentions the shame real Rangers feel at what the club that they support has done. I realise their are Rangers supporters I would not be comfortable sharing a drink with, but there many more decent guys who just support the football and look at where they are now. Their club will never be the same and I see no point in rubbing it in now.
However I see every point in driving home to football authorities that their days of unaccountability and opaqueness have gone. No more disingenuous replies, no more treating supporters like fools for we clearly are not.
This is about saying how has it come to this? How has our game become so twisted that it seems impossible for it to go straight?
Time to remove the twisted thinking and the twisters with it. Time to revisit the whole SFA/SPFL relationship and rebuild it in such a way that one part at the very least is responsible for upholding ethics and ethical play and is accountable if it does not.
redlichtie says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 13:54
I have my popcorn and jumbo coke* ready
* …we don’t have coke, only pepsi – yeah whatever. Pepsi spends $153 million on “soda” ads, while Coca-Cola’s spend is $253 million – $400m and people just take whatever’s in stock. What a waste.
jockybhoy says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 14:49
0 0 Rate This
redlichtie says:
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 13:54
I have my popcorn and jumbo coke* ready
* …we don’t have coke, only pepsi – yeah whatever. Pepsi spends $153 million on “soda” ads, while Coca-Cola’s spend is $253 million – $400m and people just take whatever’s in stock. What a waste
============================
I think it was Lord Forte who said that 50% of his advertising spend was wasted. The problem was he didn’t know which 50% it was.
Chapeau, Auldheid. The letter works well stripped of the emotion that many of us share. Short, sweet and stark. Now if only someone will give it the air of some publicity.
I will certainly make my local club aware of it. I think it best to wait until the annexes are available?
But that spend has made Coke the No1 soft drink the world over ….. apart from Scotland 🙂
Well done Auldhied , superb . Right up there with echobhoy’s ”toeing” of the westhorn loyal .
AuldheidAuldheid says: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 14:26
Thanks.
I’m taking a rest (after page 25 of 145 of the FTT decision) and trying to guess the who’s who of this theft from UK taxpayers.
AuldheidAuldheid says: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 14:
Totally agree with your comments and we are all behind you in your efforts.
Brilliant stuff, any sign of the audited accounts 🙂
sanoffymessssoitizzhizzemdyfonedrapolis says: Friday, February 28, 2014 at 14:16
Hi everyone,
I’ve just started to re-read the HMRC v RFC plc FTT Decision of November 2012 and would be grateful if one of you could (re)post a link to a reliable list of the colouful characters refered to therein.
Thanks in advance.
==============================
I think this list original came from KDS
Red – Ian McMillan – Former Chartered Tax Advisor
Yellow – MIH Goon
Turquoise – Tax advisor at PWC, advised Klos
Green – Colin Mitchell – MIH Goon
Grey – Blair Morgan – Agent/Solicitor to McCann, G. Rae
Crimson – Mrs Orchard Trident Trustee
Silver – Jorge Lera – Agent to Novo
Blue – Donald Wilson – MIH Goon
Black – David Murray – Sub-Trust (ST) #1
N/A – Graeme Souness – ST #2 (not mentioned in the document, but we haven’t forgotten you, Graeme)
Violet – Alex McLeish – ST #29
Burford – John Greig – ST #40
Indigo – John McClelland – ST #46
Magenta – Andrew Dickson
Scarlet – Martin Bain
Elgin – Campbell Ogilvie (Dates/roles match, non-player with EBT)
PLAYERS
Eversham – Stefan Klos – ST #? (A ton of evidence)
Ipswich – Barry Ferguson – ST #? (As above)
Winchester – Fernando Ricksen – ST # ? (Dutch, termination of contract discussed)
Coventry – Arthur Numan/Lorenzo Amoruso? – ST #5 (v. early number, sought indemnity, which is common amongst foreigners, esp Dutch)
Purple – Neil McCann – ST #13 (works in media, client of Blair Morgan, even the departure date from Rangers to another club (Soton) fits)
Gold – Vidmar? – ST #15 (didn’t access EBT funds, Assistant with an age group national team – about the only candidate that fits)
Skegness – ? – ST #38 (no further info, and no numbers around his number to try and work out an era)
Ely – Tore Andre Flo – ST # 43 (ton of evidence)
Norwich – Dan Eggen – ST #47 (dates match, small sum, signed from Spanish club, though not sure why his number is out of order in the chronology)
Newark – Bert Konterman? – ST #52 (Dutch lawyer, paid to leave. Aside from being paid to leave, interchangeable with the next person)
Lichfield – Ronald de Boer? – ST #56 (Dutch, but not paid to leave)
York – Kevin Muscat? – ST # 61 (fits the chronology, paid a large %age through the trust, matching with Muscat’s 1m for 1 season, paid to leave)
Manchester – Egil Ostenstad/Paolo Vanoli – ST # 62 (paid 20k to leave – most likely Egil)
Berwick – Jean Alain Boumsong – ST #63 (documents seized by police (!) paid to leave)
Bristol – Jesper Christensen – ST #64 (Foreigner, sought indemnity, trust established to pay him to “return to” [Denmark] (par 107 of judgement))
Cardiff – Gavin Rae – ST #65 (Agent is Blair Morgan, so most likely a Scot, paid a large %age through trust)
Inverness – Nacho Novo – ST #72 (Ton of evidence)
Selby – Dado Prso – ST #73 (Paid a large %age through trust, paid bonus through trust, sums match amount listed by BBC, ST # fits chronology)
Dundee – Zurab Khizanishvilli – ST #76 (Foreigner, indemnity, paid large % through trust, sums match amount listed by BBC, ST # fits chronology)
Newport – Alex Rae – ST #79 (Dates match, fits chronology, sums match)
Carlisle – ? – ST #81 (Paid part wages through EBT)
Whitehaven – ? – ST #82 (Paid part wages through EBT)
Birmingham – Marvin Andrews – ST #87 (Paid large % through trust, fits chronology)
Bath – Sotirios Kyrgiakos? – ST #88 (Higher profile player, paid large %age through trust, fits chronology, paid to leave)
Glastonbury – Thomas Buffel – ST #91 (Dutch lawyer (by this point all the Dutchmen were exhausted, and Buffel was ex-Feyenoord), fits chronology)
Doncaster – Julien Rodriguez/Olivier Bernard – ST #92 (Paid wage+CL bonus through trust, fits chronology, process of elimination)
Dorchester – Alan Hutton?/Peter Lovenkrands? – ST #95 (Paid CL bonus through trust – Hutton/Lovenkrands are tough to fit anywhere, TBH)
Warwick – Bob Malcolm? – ST #96 (Most likely as he was the only one to have a trust opened for a CL bonus and then be paid to leave)
Hampstead/Highbury – ST #97-98 (Un-used, most likely opened for the likes of Hemdani and Fanfan, but these players were paid bonus through payroll)
Camden/Islington/Kensington/Balham/Brixton – Chris Burke, Federico Nieto, Ian Murray, Steven Smith, Kris Boyd ST # 103-108 (these guys were eligible for CL bonuses and we know they had EBTs for small sums. I suspect Boyd’s contract was upgraded in 05-06 and then EBT funds were then thrown in on top of the bonus money, giving Boyd a larger sum)
Beverley – ? – ST +109
Maidstone – Sasa Papac – ST # 112 (One of the last 2 trusts still active late in the piece)
Guildford – Steven Davis – ST #113 (as above)