• Premier League

Harry Redknapp charged with cheating the public revenue

ESPN Soccernet staff
January 14, 2010
Harry Redknapp heads for the dressing room following defeat to Manchester United © Getty Images
Enlarge

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has been charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue.

Redknapp has been accused of a £40,000 tax evasion and the 62-year-old voluntarily attended Bishopsgate police station in the capital to be charged by police, his solicitor said.

The move comes at the end of an exhaustive 26-month police and tax inquiry into alleged corruption in English football.

A statement from the Crown Prosecution Service read: ''Henry (Harry) Redknapp, the former football manager of Portsmouth City Football Club, has today been charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue.

''The CPS Revenue and Customs Division decided there was sufficient evidence and it was in the public interest to charge Mr Redknapp. He is jointly charged with Milan Mandaric, the former chairman of Portsmouth City Football Club, following an investigation by the City of London Police and HM Revenue & Customs.''

''The charges concern two payments, totalling $295,000, from Mr Mandaric to Mr Redknapp via a bank account in Monaco, evading the tax and national insurance contributions due between 1 April 2002 and 28 November 2007. The payments were in relation to Mr Redknapp's employment. He will appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 11.''

Ian Burton, Redknapp's solicitor, said: ''Harry has co-operated fully with investigators during the course of this inquiry and is confident of a successful outcome to these court proceedings.''

Redknapp's arrest was part of a wider inquiry, dubbed Operation Apprentice, by City of London Police and HM Revenue and Customs into alleged football corruption. He was held in November 2007 by investigators examining a number of transfer deals at his former club Portsmouth and at Birmingham.

The decision sparked a furious response from Redknapp, who accused police of targeting him because of his high profile. Other figures who came under the police spotlight were Birmingham's former managing director Karren Brady and former co-owner David Sullivan. Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie, former chairman Milan Mandaric, former player Amdy Faye and agent Willie McKay were also questioned.

In May 2008, Redknapp and wife Sandra launched a court challenge against his arrest and the search of their home in Sandbanks, Poole. They were awarded £1,000 damages against City of London Police after the High Court ruled a search of their home was unlawful.

© ESPN EMEA LTD
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices