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Sport Minister Brent Sancho and his advisor Kevin Harrison’s relationship with Central FC has again been called into question, after a leaked document suggested that the pair may have tried to personally benefit from a transfer deal last year.
An email, allegedly sent by Harrison in August 2014, appeared to show the club employee requesting a private payment for himself and Sancho while discussing the financial details related to a move of four Trinidad and Tobago players to Belgium lower division club, CS Visé.
Although Sancho and Harrison were founders of the Couva-based football club, there is no available evidence that they were ever more than employees with the “Couva Sharks.” Harrison, who is the current advisor to the Sport Minister, was operations director at Central while Sancho was chairman.
Harrison, a British national, told Wired868 on Wednesday that it was SIS directors, rather than Sancho and himself, who owned the Couva-based football club.
“It belongs to the directors who are SIS employees,” said Harrison, who is employed as an advisor to the Sport Minister. “The bulk of the sponsorship and funding comes from SIS…”
However, a report in last week’s Guardian newspaper described Harrison as a “co-owner” of Central. Sancho also suggested he was a club owner, arguably as a means of deflecting criticism for a payment due to the Sharks that ended up in his bank account.
Adams died on 30 December 2013 after failing to recover from a heart attack.
(Courtesy Allan V. Crane/Wired868)
Wired868 reported exclusively that, four months after Sancho’s appointment as Sport Minister, Harrison directed CONCACAF to deposit a US$40,000 payment into the personal bank account of the current UNC Toco-Sangre Grande candidate.
Harrison, Sancho and the SIS-run club claimed the payment was done in error but have been unable to adequately address the chronological order of the wire transfer.
Sancho was made Sport Minister in February 2015 and it was not until May 2015 that Central qualified for the CONCACAF Champions League. The request for the club’s bank details came within a week of its qualification and the deadline for a response was between 28 May and 12 June 2015.
Wired868 can reveal that, according to documents lodged with the Ministry of Legal Affairs, neither Sancho nor Harrison are listed as directors or shareholders at Central FC.
Instead, SIS officials Daren Mohamdally and Ronald Ramlogan are listed as directors of the football club, which was registered as Central United FC Limited on 21 August 2012, under the Companies Act. Ramlogan was also named as the company’s secretary.
Central FC has never filed annual returns.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Neither Sancho nor Harrison responded to Wired868 requests for clarification on their supposed stakes at Central in light of documentation received by Legal Affairs.
More shocking was an email that appeared to be sent from Harrison’s email address to a Visé official, which requested an “agreed personal payment” for Sancho and himself during transfer negotiations for local players.
The email mentioned Central players Willis Plaza, Rundell Winchester and Elton John as well as Kevon Villaroel, who all moved to the Belgium club in August 2014.
Visé was also directed to send the transfer money to the pair via Western Union rather than to Central’s bank account.
“Brent said that you cannot send the first payment as well as the agreed personal payment,” stated the email from kh.centralfc@gmail.com. “I think we agreed that the second payment will be in January and the third in May. It’s no problem, but could you indicate when you would be able to slip in the personal payment?
“Probably the best payment method would be via Western Union (obviously the fees would be deducted from the initial sum). If possible, send two payments, 50% to Brent Sancho and 50% to Kevin Harrison.”
Wired868 published an article on the same day, which revealed that CONCACAF was directed to send money due to Central FC to Sancho’s personal bank account.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Plaza, John and Villaroel were all free agents so the money was believed to be for Winchester’s move.
An informed source claimed that Visé was asked to pay US$15,000 to the Pro League club and US$5,000 as a personal payment. However, that figure could not be confirmed.
Former Central FC coach Terry Fenwick was Visé coach at the time, although there is no suggestion that he was involved in the deal or had any role in transfer deals for either club.
The Visé official directed to make the payment was allegedly Sancho’s agent during his playing career in Britain. However, there is no evidence that Harrison and Sancho were ever paid, as the Belgium team quickly landed in financial hot water.
A request for a secret payment to help facilitate a transfer, which is referred to as a “bung” in British football, is illegal and might have exposed either club to FIFA sanctions. According to FIFA’s Regulations on the status and transfer of players, clubs in breach of its transfer code could be punished with anything from a reprimand or fine to a transfer ban or demotion.
At present, Winchester is on loan to the reserve team of MLS franchise, Portland Timbers.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
The email from kh.centralfc@gmail.com sought to explain why Visé should send a transfer payment through Western Union rather than to the club’s bank account.
“This makes it a lot easier than through the bank as, in my experience, bank transfers to Trinidad aren’t liked by European banks (something to do with sort codes, if I recall correctly),” stated the correspondence from Harrison’s email address.
The Belgium club imploded financially and Fenwick and the four players were soon back in Trinidad.
Winchester, who is 21, was subsequently sent on loan to United States second tier club, Portland Timbers B. It is uncertain whether any payments were made for the player and, if so, where the money ended up.
Wired868 asked Sancho and Harrison to explain the request for a “personal payment” and why the entire transfer figure negotiated was not directed to Central FC’s bank account.
Looking on is then Central FC operations director Kevin Harrison (top left).
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Neither responded by the time of publication.
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
Wow! Yuh see why there’s a saying that “birds of a feather, stick together”? It’s no wonder why Sancho end up a member of the UNC. This was the SAME Sancho who was just “gallerying” in Tim Kee. about “accountability”. Sad, just goes to show that politics was written all over that kinda showmanship by Sancho. But nonetheless, he’s STILL a candidate under the UNC, supported by Kamla “Has a Plan” Persad Bissessar.
To suggest that as a reason to bypass proper procedures is a nonsense Lasana.
Kendall Tull what did you think of this part:
“The email from kh.centralfc@gmail.com sought to explain why Visé should send a transfer payment through Western Union rather than to the club’s bank account.
“This makes it a lot easier than through the bank as, in my experience, bank transfers to Trinidad aren’t liked by European banks (something to do with sort codes, if I recall correctly),” stated the correspondence from Harrison’s email address.”
No we should not say anything accept the corruption and move on but if some other person done that jail him one law for peter and another for paul
Eat ah food stern !!!!0
Stern John joins de eat afood crew after all those years in england being paid in pound sterlin soso sad
I am not their biggest fan, either of them… but I have to say, I am STUNNED by this. Hard to believe these men were carrying on like this… I mean, I know they were inept with regards to certain things, but chalked up the errors to the steep learning curve implicit to running an organization. I gave them the benefit of the doubt… especially the way both Sanko/Banko and Harrison loved to carry on in public about “transparency and accountability” and given their relentless crusading against the TTFA. But THIS??? Nah, never in a million years would I have suspected them of anything like this. I should have known better though, all the signs were there, from the association with SIS, to the coziness with the PP government, to the payment by the same, and the eventual Ministerial appointment. This is just astonishing.
Sancho needs to be asked about this when a camera is his face. Lets see the response and the body language to go with it
Why am I not surprised !! Corruption and more to come before the 7th .
Something about the Ministry of Sports …….and the leadership”talent” than ends up there.
For Decades every Greddy person in this country , all they doing is looking to see who take , who thief , who horn , who have , who want , who like , , before they try and help one another and let the place run good , is a BIG BAG MACKO`S all over the place begging you to vote , MP`S Paying people in offices to thief information and bring it out to make headline news , Sancho still try to see if he will win the seat and they start to target the man , the next thing you will hear is four years ago he thief two Football from Jack Warner.
Go ahead, Ganesh, don’t wait for Lasana. Feel free to buss the mark yuhself because you sounding like if you have files…
What madness……allyuh…nahhhhh…..this country gone through
all this money passing,better I get a job in politricks..
This is a reflection of who we have become. Sancho had so many people looking up to him, respect as a national footballer, now a chosen Minister. But it looks like greed is a hellava thing, he had to have more than mere ‘respect’.. How does he feel when he looks @ his children these days? Does he want to run & hide? Or like Jack, everybody must not believe their lying eyes? Sheesshhh
Come on are you really surprised at this? Birds of a feather.
D man worst than Jack
lolololol
Clearly, Sanko was subject to a rigorous screening process by the UNC Selection Committee…to make sure he fit the bill.
Lawd put ah hand…is there no end to this corrupt regime?
Is this another Jack Warner in the making?
Harrsion is a real smart man He come to Trinidad claimng he is this and that and some moral paragon but he is a con man
From the information unearthed so far, it appears that Sancho and Harrison approached SIS to start a Pro League football club in 2012.
SIS agreed to do so but listed only its own company officials as directors. SIS effectively owned the club and Sancho and Harrison were employees.
Sancho and Harrison, based on this email and the concacaf money business, appeared to be using the directors’ lack of knowledge about football matters to make extra money.
Of course this is speculation based on the information at hand.
If he was PNM everybody below me would call all of this a bunch of dirty UNC lies …
I am glad he is PP …
he will be investigated and if guilty, FIRED (at minimum) …
I am so glad he is PP …..
If he was PNM ,,,,
Everybody below wold jump to his defense ..
and kind of blind party loyalty is encouraging corruption …
until allyuh stupid PNM supporters learn to punish your OWN ….
I voting PP for my sake, your sake, and the sake of our descendants …
the PNM will rob us blind, if the win
and ALL of you bom boms will HELP THEM
all i could say is hmmmm
they thinking up an answer, keep waiting it will be good. If shit really hits the fan, look for Harrison to take the fall,
I have contacted both parties to explain the request for a personal payment and their preferred use of Western Union for a transfer deal.
I await their responses…
Good lord – Lasana Liburd go and sleep
the tape is unraveling Brent as usual evasive with his dealings
Chica Emery they have to get it from him in a weeks time
What next?
With the speed Sancho going just now Republic bank might get their foreign exchange from him.
HE NO OJT when it comes to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ big money sucker man OMG IS $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
hahahhah
I wonder who worse? Dem two or jack warner.
Kevin and Sancho two big scammer
Hmmm…
He corrupt that is why he was selected
Lol
I wonder what the people that were saying Tanty and her bunch corrupted him gonna be saying now bai
Look trouble now
And the plot thickens! ENT?
Jesso,Jesso ?
Sanko buying and selling players like Fantasy Football?
So this crap keeps getting worse. Well Sancho boy ah cyah say you ain’t learn nothing from Jack. He has taught you well
an “agreed personal payment” for Sancho
Say it aint so !!
Lawd….
You’re working hard
Wow!
Bankoh on a roll.
Well well.
Hmmm … like many of these PP people only know about taking a dollar instead of making/earning a dollr … Sancho-Sanko-Banko stocks sinking lower and lower with each passing day.
And Lasan, look out eh! Yuh kno de PP trolls and dem go set on yuh and claim yuh is ah PNM stooge for broadcassin de truth … Let them know that truth has no politics!