ian1964 10,870 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Rangers stand accused of failing to properly register players after a former director revealed secretive payments had been consistently excluded from contracts lodged with the SFA. The embattled Ibrox club are awaiting the outcome of the First Tier Tax Tribunal which will determine the legality or otherwise of Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs). Regardless of whether Rangers are hit with an additional bill of £49million from the so-called 'big tax case', it appears such payments were kept 'off the books' - in direct contravention of SFA registration rules. Former Ibrox director Hugh Adam, who had a 30-year association with the club until 2002, has told Sportsmail that the club's directors were aware of the arrangement - one he believes could have started as early as the mid-1990s. 'They weren't included in the contracts. They definitely weren't. That was the whole point of them,' he said. 'If they'd been included in the contracts, they would have had to have paid tax on them. 'I don't think a lot of the other directors knew an awful lot about it. David Murray kept everything to himself. 'The directors just wanted to sit in the directors' box. That's all. When I was on the board, I knew all about them. 'I just didn't know the details of them. They became accepted. 'The revenue were seriously challenging them at that point when I was a director. 'People never really asked serious questions about them. "It's perfectly legal" was what they thought. 'It wasn't happening in Britain, so had nothing to do with Britain. All the directors heard about them but didn't take them seriously because they didn't appear in the books.' Adam's revelation suggests a clear breach of the SFA rulebook - and is a potential embarrassment to current SFA president Campbell Ogilvie, who had a 27-year association with Rangers, many of them spent as secretary. The SFA rule on registration states: 'All payments made to a player relating to his playing activities must be clearly recorded upon the relevant contract and/or agreement. 'No payment for his playing activities may be made to the player through a third party.' Adam, the man who funded the redevelopment of Ibrox through Rangers pools, believes payments into discretionary trusts may have gone on well before the turn of the millennium. It's understood the 'big tax case' relates to EBT payments from 2000 until 2009 but, when questioned if he heard of similar payments in the mid- 1990s, Adam confirmed: 'Without having any specialist knowledge, I'm pretty sure. 'People didn't want to know about them. There was a lot of that (EBTs) going on at the time (I was there). 'You knew it was cheating but some of them not only hoped but believed it was above board. 'It's this thing that when something happens it has to have a beginning and an end, but that wasn't the case with the overseas things. 'It was just something that crept up. It was considered important but not crucial. The fans didn't give a damn one way or another. You could argue that they knew about it but didn't think it was important. 'Maybe they never thought it was as much as it really was. And maybe it wasn't. I don't know if you remember radio stations from ships. 'I don't think they were making a fortune but they weren't costing a lot of money, so no one bothered. 'When I was asked for my opinion on the way the club had been run, I said it was quite obvious how it had got into trouble.'They were doing things they shouldn't have been doing. 'They (EBTs) were always regarded in my time as a bit of a joke. They were getting away with it but nobody really thought they'd get away wi th i t forever. ' It would be an offshore trust - almost like a boat. You could dodge your taxes that way. It wasn't something that you picked up the paper and read about. It was one at a time then grew on a gradual basis. 'The players were very naive. Few of them were the Brain of Britain, of course. If they get the money, they don't give a damn where it's coming from.' 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,870 Posted March 2, 2012 Author Share Posted March 2, 2012 Murray in over head - Hugh Adam. Published on Sunday 14 July 2002 01:00 http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/top-football-stories/murray_in_over_head_1_1375205 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,511 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Now the rats are creeping out their holes to cash in on some publicity. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgacus 8 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Adams well known dislike of Murray possible makes him a less than reliable witness. The EBT case has been going on for a while, why has he only now spoken out? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Fhucking lining up to twist the knife the bastards. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 A suspicious mind could easily think that Adam actually wants to worsen the damage already being done to the club. Why would he want to do that though? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 A suspicious mind could easily think that Adam actually wants to worsen the damage already being done to the club. Why would he want to do that though? Why someone with such a long association with the club would do such a thing is beyond me. Unless there is some other motive. There are quotes from Adam.... however, why does he make it seem like he was the only Board member (other than SDM) who knew about these schemes - what made him such a confidante ? Pinch of salt again for me. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 A suspicious mind could easily think that Adam actually wants to worsen the damage already being done to the club. Why would he want to do that though? Well Zappa, doesn't exactly look like he's a Bear offering us a helping hand. Apparently the SFA Inquiry is "aware" of these reports. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Why someone with such a long association with the club would do such a thing is beyond me. Unless there is some other motive. Exactly, but what could his motive be for talking about this rather than declining to comment? Maybe a reporter caught him drunk or got him drunk? There are quotes from Adam.... however, why does he make it seem like he was the only Board member (other than SDM) who knew about these schemes - what made him such a confidante ? He actually said that all the directors had heard about them, but didn't take them seriously because they didn't appear in the books. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ergatrude 0 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 An electrician in my work was banging on about this to me this morning in work, the guy was a complete cunt. Was spouting all this shit to me & not listening to any of my replies, he just kept saying "where are you getting this information and I'll google it right now" while pulling out his stolen iphone. I was close to losing my job today because of the shit this guy was coming out with, I left the room he was in and he followed me, banging on about double contracts and how Celtic have never done wrong & we should be stripped of titles & how he only became a Celtic fan because 3 Rangers fans gave him a doin' outside Ibrox.. Most definitely the most ridiculous Celtic fan I've ever had the displeasure of meeting. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.