Source: Daily_Mail
Tottenham back Harry Redknapp after manager charged with tax evasion
Support: Spurs say the case against Harry Redknapp is not football related[LNB]Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is to face proceedings for an alleged tax offence.[LNB]A spokesman for the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office told The Mail On Sunday last night: 'The decision to go ahead with proceedings has been taken and a charge or charges will follow.'[LNB]The sensational development follows the three-year investigation into allegations of football corruption by the City of London Police and HM Revenue and Customs.[LNB]Redknapp, who has spent more than two years on bail since being arrested in November 2007 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting, was informed of the decision on Friday night after a meeting of HMRC investigators and RCPO lawyers.[LNB]When approached by The Mail on Sunday for comment last night, Tottenham issued a statement from Redknapp's solicitors, BCL Burton Copeland.[LNB]It read: 'Harry Redknapp is extremely surprised and disappointed to have been informed that HMRC intend to institute proceedings against him in the week beginning January 11, 2010.[LNB]'We believe that the decision to commence proceedings will, in due course, be shown to have been totally misconceived.'[LNB]Tottenham added: 'The club considers it to be a private, tax issue which pre-dates Harry's employment with the club and which is not related to football matters. His position remains unaffected and he has the full support of the club.'[LNB]The news of the decision to bring proceedings is another blow for Redknapp and Tottenham after a difficult week at White Hart Lane.[LNB]Although the 2-0 victory at Blackburn kept his team on course to challenge for a top-four place in the Premier League, the manager had been humiliated by revelations that most of the squad held a Christmas party in Dublin earlier this month despite his instruction not to have one.[LNB]The Mail on Sunday can reveal that one of Redknapp's sons, Mark, was playing in a seven-a-side football tournament at the David Beckham Academy in Greenwich on Friday night when news reached him that his father was to face proceedings and he immediately left the event to drive to the family home in Dorset.[LNB] Redknapp: Applauding Tottenham supporters after a 2-0 win at Blackburn[LNB]The impending case is believed to relate to a payment former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric, made in 2003 into an offshore bank account belonging to Redknapp, at a time when he was in the first of his two spells as manager at Fratton Park.[LNB]The bail for Mandaric and Redknapp expired on Friday, but it is unclear whether any decision has been made regarding Mandaric.[LNB]The City of London Police started their investigation in October 2006, but it was not until more than a year later that Redknapp, Mandaric, Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie, agent Willie McKay and former Portsmouth player Amdy Faye were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.[LNB]McKay and Faye were subsequently released from police bail but, in November, Storrie was charged with 'cheating the public revenue' in relation to a payment allegedly made to Faye after he joined Portsmouth from Auxerre in 2003.[LNB]Storrie is due to appear at Southwark Crown Court on January 20. Redknapp, Storrie and Mandaric have always denied any wrongdoing.[LNB]The City of London Police and tax authorities were under immense pressure to have something to show for their long and controversial investigation.[LNB]Redknapp won a High Court action against the City of London Police in May 2008, successfully claiming a raid on his house in November 2007 was unlawful. But he was questioned again hours after his court victory. [LNB] Spurs manager Harry Redknapp faces new tax quiz over offshore accountsFurious Redknapp to punish Spurs stars who held secret Christmas party [LNB] [LNB] [LNB]
