Harry Redknapp Charged with Tax Evasion

[Hobo]

Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, has been charged with cheating the public revenue to the tune of £40,000.

The 62-year-old was charged after he voluntarily attended Bishopsgate police station in London today and 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."

A Crown Prosecution Service statement said: "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 £183,000 from Mr Mandaric to Mr Redknapp via a bank account in Monaco, evading the tax and national insurance contributions due between April 1, 2002 and November 28, 2007.

The move comes at the end of an exhaustive 26-month police and tax inquiry dubbed Operation Apprentice by City of London Police and HM Revenue and Customs into alleged football corruption.

Mandaric has strenuously denied the allegations, which go back to his time as Portsmouth chairman from 1998 to 2006. Before Christmas, Redknapp described the decision to bring charges against him as part of the same investigation as "farcical".

Redknapp was arrested in November 2007 by investigators examining a number of transfer deals at his former club Portsmouth. The decision sparked a furious response from Redknapp, who accused police of targeting him because of his high profile.

Peter Storrie, the Portsmouth chief executive, former Portsmouth player Amdy Faye and his agent Willie McKay were also questioned. Storrie was charged with concealing a signing-on fee for Faye by paying it into the midfielder's bank account last November.

The allegation related to the transfer of Faye from Auxerre to Portsmouth for £1.5 million in August 2003. Storrie will appear at Southwark Crown Court next Wednesday.

In May 2008, Redknapp and Sandra, his wife, 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 the search was unlawful.

- The Times

Oh 'arry! You scallywag.

[IAceI]

However this wasn't the main story in the Times. Instead they lead with "The Sky is Blue" as their main piece.

Colour me unsurprised.

Sad thing is, most people will turn round and think "wow, really? But.. he's Mr English Football!?" The unsavoury horrible cretin :@

[METALMAN]

He does look a bit dodgy with his squinty little eyes. >_>

I've met Harry Redknapp. First thing I noticed was that he has really hairy hands. Definitely a baddie!

[Crybaby Bunting]

Before Christmas, Redknapp described the decision to bring charges against him as part of the same investigation as "farcical"

Of course he'd say that if he was trying to cover it up ¬_¬

[Dynamite]

What's the normal punishment for stuff like this?

[Baddar]

Execution.