Post by QPR Report on Jul 15, 2009 6:42:41 GMT
David Conn/The Guardian
Kia Joorabchian should now tell us where the Carlos Tevez £25m is goingRepresentative has never revealed who the "owners" are of the Argentinian striker
So the Carlos Tevez auction is finally over and the not very big surprise is that Manchester City were prepared to pay more than anybody else to land the player, both to Tevez – a reported £150,000 a week in wages - and to Kia Joorabchian, who will take possession of £25.5m for the "owners" of Tevez he represents.
Joorabchian has never, in the three years that Tevez has been playing in this country, first for West Ham, then for two years at Premier League champions Manchester United, stated who actually "owns" the economic rights to the Argentinian. It emerged during the Premier League's disciplinary procedures, when West Ham were fined £5.5m for breaches in the regulations when Tevez and Javier Mascherano were signed, that the rights in Tevez were held by two offshore companies, MSI Group and Just Sports Inc. It was also noted that the rights were transferred to those companies on February 7 2006. Tevez was then playing for Corinthians, which MSI owned for a time.
Joorabchian has since made it clear he is no longer involved with MSI, but he still represents offshore companies who "own" Tevez. But he has never revealed who the investors are in those companies and now, even as English football's biggest transfer fee of the summer is changing hands in Manchester, he has still not said where the money is going.
In the Financial Action Task Force's report two weeks ago warning of football's vulnerability to money-laundering, a section was explicitly devoted to concerns where players are "owned" by offshore companies with anonymous investors:
"A relatively recent development is the possibility of ownership of players (or rights in player) by individuals or entities that are not football clubs," the report said. "These persons fall outside the direct jurisdiction of the football organisations. The ownership structures often involve companies in offshore jurisdictions with complex and often impenetrable ownership structures.
"A significant amount of money is generated as a result of player transactions that have resulted in significant sums being paid to such entities where they hold the ownership rights to certain players. Due to the limitations of the football organisations' jurisdiction, the basis of the acquisition of these rights and the trading, funding and ownership position of the entities through which such transactions are managed is opaque and often impossible for the football organisations to establish."
When the report came out, I asked Kia Joorabchian's media representative, the helpful and personable Phil Hall, whether it raised questions about the anonymous offshore ownership of Tevez. He replied that Joorabchian did not want to comment, but made it clear there was no suggestion of any money laundering having taken place.
Still, to avoid the FATF's concern about the "opaque" nature of such arrangements, it would be enlightening if, now the deal is done and £25m is to be paid to his associates, Joorabchian would tell us who the owners of Tevez have actually been all this time, and where the money is now going.
www.guardian.co.uk/sport/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2009/jul/14/manchestercity-carlos-tevez
Kia Joorabchian should now tell us where the Carlos Tevez £25m is goingRepresentative has never revealed who the "owners" are of the Argentinian striker
So the Carlos Tevez auction is finally over and the not very big surprise is that Manchester City were prepared to pay more than anybody else to land the player, both to Tevez – a reported £150,000 a week in wages - and to Kia Joorabchian, who will take possession of £25.5m for the "owners" of Tevez he represents.
Joorabchian has never, in the three years that Tevez has been playing in this country, first for West Ham, then for two years at Premier League champions Manchester United, stated who actually "owns" the economic rights to the Argentinian. It emerged during the Premier League's disciplinary procedures, when West Ham were fined £5.5m for breaches in the regulations when Tevez and Javier Mascherano were signed, that the rights in Tevez were held by two offshore companies, MSI Group and Just Sports Inc. It was also noted that the rights were transferred to those companies on February 7 2006. Tevez was then playing for Corinthians, which MSI owned for a time.
Joorabchian has since made it clear he is no longer involved with MSI, but he still represents offshore companies who "own" Tevez. But he has never revealed who the investors are in those companies and now, even as English football's biggest transfer fee of the summer is changing hands in Manchester, he has still not said where the money is going.
In the Financial Action Task Force's report two weeks ago warning of football's vulnerability to money-laundering, a section was explicitly devoted to concerns where players are "owned" by offshore companies with anonymous investors:
"A relatively recent development is the possibility of ownership of players (or rights in player) by individuals or entities that are not football clubs," the report said. "These persons fall outside the direct jurisdiction of the football organisations. The ownership structures often involve companies in offshore jurisdictions with complex and often impenetrable ownership structures.
"A significant amount of money is generated as a result of player transactions that have resulted in significant sums being paid to such entities where they hold the ownership rights to certain players. Due to the limitations of the football organisations' jurisdiction, the basis of the acquisition of these rights and the trading, funding and ownership position of the entities through which such transactions are managed is opaque and often impossible for the football organisations to establish."
When the report came out, I asked Kia Joorabchian's media representative, the helpful and personable Phil Hall, whether it raised questions about the anonymous offshore ownership of Tevez. He replied that Joorabchian did not want to comment, but made it clear there was no suggestion of any money laundering having taken place.
Still, to avoid the FATF's concern about the "opaque" nature of such arrangements, it would be enlightening if, now the deal is done and £25m is to be paid to his associates, Joorabchian would tell us who the owners of Tevez have actually been all this time, and where the money is now going.
www.guardian.co.uk/sport/david-conn-inside-sport-blog/2009/jul/14/manchestercity-carlos-tevez
