Man City FFP: Expert reveals verdict on criminal investigation over tax bill – ‘it wouldn’t surprise me’
It has been suggested that Manchester City may have already found a way to avoid a criminal investigation over a potential unpaid tax bill.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Man City have been found guilty on almost all charges after being accused of breaching the Premier League’s FFP regulations.
Man City have since appealed the verdict and continue to insist on their innocence, but they face severe sanctions if they cannot clear their name. Their possible sanctions include a fine, transfer ban, points deduction, expulsion and/or being stripped of their Premier League titles.
The club were found to have produced several ‘sham’ deals for revenue worth around £900m, while former manager Roberto Mancini had a double contract to hide the true cost of his Man City salary.
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After the double contract was revealed, it has been reported that this could lead to a criminal investigation over an unpaid tax bill worth £12m, with the club now needing to pay around £24m to HMRC.
Man City could avoid criminal investigation
However, former Man City financial advisor Stefan Borson suspects Man City may have “already settled issues” regarding Mancini’s contract, with it “probable” that this is the current situation.
“I’m not sure about criminal investigation. I think the follow-on issues like, ‘What about HMRC?’, are inevitable,” Borson told Football Insider.
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“Now it’s possible and maybe even probable that City have already settled issues relating to Roberto Mancini with HMRC because remember, this has been in public domain since 2018.
“It would not surprise me if they’d already had a letter around 2018 requesting information and a settlement around that matter now eight years ago.
“And because of the numbers involved, largely quite small, I suspect if it had come to that, City would have just paid it. But that’s a guess.
“And as I understand it from Dan Neidle’s reporting, the tax specialist, he can’t see any evidence that they paid it. Now, I’ve not gone back and checked the accounts.
“I don’t know whether it would be broken down anyway, or where it would sit, which company would sit in. So I don’t know if they’ve settled it, but it wouldn’t surprise me.”
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