Feds pursue fugitive with Chelsea link

Officials from the US Depart- ment of Justice have contacted Guernsey regulators to obtain information on secretive trusts connected to Chelsea Village, the parent company of Chelsea Football club, its chairman Ken Bates and two other Chelsea directors.

The probe is part of an investigation into the financial affairs of British businessman Stanley Tollman.

In an 82-page indictment filed in April, Mr Tollman, along with four others, was charged with tax and bank fraud related to the collapse of a hotel investment company. Mr Tollman later failed to turn up to a court hearing in New York and is considered to be a fugitive from justice.

He did, however, appear at a party held by Mr Bates to celebrate 20 years in charge of Chelsea in April.

Mr Tollman, a former director of Chelsea, is believed to be the beneficial owner of Swan Management, a trust that was a major shareholder in AIM-listed Chelsea until July, when it sold out to Mr Bates. Swan is administered by Harbour Group, a trust company whose trustees include Patrick Murrin and Mark Taylor, both non-executive directors of Chelsea Village.

Swan, whose name is an amalgamation of the initials of two assistants to Mr Murrin, bought its stake in Chelsea from Rysaffe, another secretive trust. Rysaffe was administered by the Guernsey arm of Saffery Champness, the chartered accountants, and Rysaffe is an anagram of Saffery. Mr Murrin was formerly a partner of Saffery, whose London office is the auditor of Chelsea Village's accounts.

Mr Murrin is listed as a trustee of Harbour Group along with Mr Taylor, a solicitor who operates his own practice. The offices of Mark Taylor & Co are rented from Chelsea Village and the company is the firm's sole publicly listed corporate client.

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission is investigating a complaint about the running of Harbour Group and whether it is a "sham trust" controlled by Mr Bates.

The complaint arises from a court action against Mr Taylor by his former partner Neil Jacobsen, of solicitor Jacobsens. In his defence, Mr Taylor said he was given two loans – one of £500,000 and another of £200,000 – by Mr Bates in 1998, to help him buy a house in west London.

However, further correspondence reveals the loans were granted by Harbour Group. The £500,000 loan has now been paid back and the £200,000 loan written off.

None of these financial benefits to Mr Taylor has been declared in Chelsea Village's accounts.

Mr Taylor and Mr Bates are both up for re-election as directors at Chelsea Village's AGM next month.

Mr Taylor was not available for comment and his solicitors said they would not discuss the case without his agreement.

Peter Neville, director-general of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, confirmed it had received a complaint about the running of the trust. "We are discussing matters with the company involved and are looking into it."

He said he was unable to comment on whether he had been contacted by outside agencies about Harbour Group, Swan and Rysaffe.

Senior accounting sources have told The Independent on Sunday that inquiries are being made in Guernsey by "senior US agencies" about the beneficial ownership of the trusts. It is understood these inquiries come from the US Department of Justice.

The secrecy about the ownership of Chelsea Village shares has hung over the club since it floated in the mid-1990s and has caused many leading investors to shun the company in favour of other football stocks.

Mr Bates was unavailable for comment.