Manchester City Council has a zero tolerance approach to fraud and illegal activity. The games boosted the city's international profile and kick-started the transformation of East Manchester, involving the construction of the stadium which is now home to Manchester City FC. In a UK and Europe again in economic depression after the banking collapse, the real wealth from the oil and gas-rich Gulf states is eagerly sought, not only in football. Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Other allegations of torture included one detainee saying he was "beaten with a plastic tube all over my body"; another wrote he was tied to a chair and threatened with electrocution. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. "I, with another person, initiated the petition, then I was subjected to a smear campaign, arrested for comments deemed to be insulting to the president, and put in jail," he said. The governments damning verdict on Liverpool city council was summed up by a single word on the front page of the local newspaper: Failed., The feeling of many Liverpudlians was one of shame, anger and betrayal. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. In addition to Bokhari, Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt, Councilman James Mitchell, and Councilman Dimple Ajmera sat on the committee. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. He and I have been there together at difficult moments.". The human rights organisations called on the UAE authorities to provide independent medical examinations of the detainees who claimed to have been tortured, exclude from the proceedings any evidence obtained by torture, and carry out a prompt investigation. Judge Grainger ruled today that Elliot, Harris and Roberts had all knowingly participated in the scheme. 5'(4I'zh4,l+!{E9. Terry Burke, Manchester town hall's head of corporate technical services, was suspended on full pay in. Mr Burnham said Greater Manchester was "immeasurably stronger" and Sir Richard had "been at the heart of that". America's second-largest city was already mired in scandal and chaos. But internal critics began to find more of a voice two years ago, against a background of the Arab spring, conservative Muslim campaigns and democracy movements in other countries, allied to widespread use of the internet. Elliots wife Tasha-Gaye has also been found guilty. A massive fraud scheme spanning some three years at the Manchester Municipal Corporation has this afternoon resulted in the conviction of 5 persons including former local government officials. "It has been an enormous privilege to serve the people of Manchester over this period of time and my heartfelt thanks goes to the thousands of people who have worked with us over the last 25 years.". But given the new claims and details, most of which Uefa are unlikely to have been aware of originally, doing nothing will make it look weak, especially when City always maintained they had acted within the regulations. While City, PSG and other clubs appear to have made a mockery of FFP, Uefa stands by its regulations, arguing that they have made club finances healthier and more stable than ever, with 1,700m euros of combined losses across professional European leagues in 2011 transformed into 600m euros of profit last year. Everybody will be lifted up if we all aim for equality: Hundreds line the streets in the city centre for Manchester's annual Walk for Women, The march is one of many taking place across the UK for International Women's Day, Emotional scenes at Etihad as Man City fans and Phil Foden pay tribute to tragic Milly-Rose, 6, who died suddenly, The emotional display happened during the sixth minute of Manchester City vs Newcastle, 'We ditched our corporate jobs for life on a narrowboat with our baby - we've never been happier', Despite earning a sixth of their previous income, Joanna and Victor Gould are loving the slower pace of life, We took Jay Rayner for lunch at one his favourite Manchester restaurants - heres what he had to say about the citys food, We sat down for lunch with the acclaimed food critic ahead of his show 'Jazz Up the 80s with the Jay Rayner Sextet' at Manchester's Albert Hall, 'School banned my business when I was 12. An internal auditing process carried out by the council then picked up irregularities. Meanwhile, in handing down her judgement, Judge Grainger found Elliot guilty of 17 of the 25 counts brought by the Crown. The Cunard building, on the Liverpool waterfront, is home to the city councils administration. He added: "A quarter of a century on the frontline of politics is tough. As reported in the M.E.N. The state security apparatus can be very ugly, so people are really afraid to say anything.". Read about our approach to external linking. It is believed questions were raised over Mr Burkes dealings with subcontractors. English football has been warned it has allowed one of its major clubs to be exploited as a "branding vehicle" by an international regime accused of human rights abuses after a trial in Abu Dhabi, a country ruled by Manchester City's owner and his brothers, was widely denounced as repressive, involving torture, and "fundamentally unfair". Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Corporate Services. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. It is also aware of the hypocrisy that exists in football, mindful of the fact that Real Madrid was one of seven Spanish clubs ordered to repay tens of millions of euros of state aid in 2016 after the European Commission ruled that preferential loans to the clubs and deals on tax and property constituted illegal government help. Visit our website at www.manchester.gov.uk Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? If they are authentic - (and Der Spiegel insist that their source - purportedly the founder of the Football Leaks whistleblower website - has assured them that he did not hack or steal the documents) - then many will inevitably conclude that they do not reflect well on the club, and raise serious questions over its integrity and its respect for the rules. 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He was deputed from his duties for Sheikh Mohammed to run City shortly after Mansour bought the club, to shape a more dignified direction after the initial frenzy of media coverage which was all about money and considered detrimental by the Abu Dhabi establishment. GB Building Solutions has launched its own investigation after Manchester council suspended its head of corporate technical services, Terry Burke, following allegations that he profited from deals done by the council. The BBC has not been able to verify the leaked emails published by Der Spiegel, and City have refused to comment, beyond saying that the documents are "purportedly hacked or stolen" and an "organised attempt" to smear the club. Sir Richard was involved in the consequent transformation of the city, which had already been selected to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Amnesty and HRW have stated that they believe torture is "a systematic practice" in Abu Dhabi and UAE state security jails, and that complaints that these men were tortured, including to extract confessions, have not been investigated. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. In 2009, some fans clubbed together to pay for a banner, draped ever since along the stand opposite the directors' box. 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Both Amnesty and HRW say none of that has happened. 5 0 obj This despite the club earning praise for the way it has invested 1.45bn of Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth since. "His oversight of the transformation of our city - in so many different ways - leaves a huge and powerful legacy that will be unmatched for a very, very long time. Trusted News Discovery Since 2008. The 94 were tried on charges of plotting to overthrow the UAE government, which remains adamant this was proven against the 69 convicted. The investigation escalated in December with the arrest of Joe Anderson, the councils figurehead for 12 years, alongside four other men including Derek Hatton, the 72-year-old leftwing firebrand who ran Liverpool three decades ago. Everybody will be lifted up if we all aim for equality: Hundreds line the streets in the city centre for Manchester's annual Walk for Women, The march is one of many taking place across the UK for International Women's Day, Emotional scenes at Etihad as Man City fans and Phil Foden pay tribute to tragic Milly-Rose, 6, who died suddenly, The emotional display happened during the sixth minute of Manchester City vs Newcastle, 'We ditched our corporate jobs for life on a narrowboat with our baby - we've never been happier', Despite earning a sixth of their previous income, Joanna and Victor Gould are loving the slower pace of life, We took Jay Rayner for lunch at one his favourite Manchester restaurants - heres what he had to say about the citys food, We sat down for lunch with the acclaimed food critic ahead of his show 'Jazz Up the 80s with the Jay Rayner Sextet' at Manchester's Albert Hall, 'School banned my business when I was 12. La Liga's condemnation of City and PSG will therefore be viewed in that context. The hearing to hand down a verdict in the 4-hundred million-dollar fraud scheme was streamed live today with Parish Judge, Ann Marie Grainger delivering the judgment. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. The Emirati population, which numbers around one million, are still considered by commentators to be largely content, particularly given the country's stability in a Middle East in turmoil and civil war elsewhere. They should hang their heads in shame.. last month, the accusations which have also been referred to police are understood to involve multi-million pound building projects contracted to the GB Group by the council. Mr Burke refused to comment on the allegations. Bev Craig has been elected as the new leader of Manchester City Council, becoming the local authority's first female chief. A building firm is helping with a council corruption probe following the suspension of a town hall boss. The official opposition is the Green Party with three councillors. No one else employed by the council is currently believed to be involved. In 1999, after 14 years on the Dallas City Council, Lipscomb was indicted and convicted on 65 counts of bribery, including . Six of the 94 detainees finally appeared before a judge in Abu Dhabi on 6 September 2012 and were reported by HRW and Amnesty to have appeared "dishevelled, disoriented and distressed". Given their cultural influence and importance to their communities, it is absolutely right that big clubs like City are held to account. Sir Richard, a former teacher and youth worker, was elected to the city council in 1984. ", Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, The family of Manchester City's owner Sheikh Mansour rule Abu Dhabi, the dominant state in the United Arab Emirates. The people of Liverpool deserve better we might not like our politicians but we need to be able to trust them, he said on Friday. No. Analysis: Political fallout could cost Labour the citys mayoralty and votes in Mays local elections, It was a devastating indictment of one of Britains most powerful councils: a rotten culture of dubious contracts and backroom bullying, where staff were silenced and official records dumped in skips. Bribery and campaign finance violations are central to the claims. The City Council's constitution describes the four basic elements through which the council operates: the Council, the Executive, Overview and Scrutiny, and the Committees. The 48-year-old outlined he had concerns upon Casemiro's arrival but the Man United ace has since quelled his fears. You side with the Tories, youve slept with the devil. Racist backroom plotting. Michael Parkinson, an honorary professor at the University of Liverpool who has written extensively about the citys history, said it was a very challenging, depressing moment and that there was a real risk of reputational damage to all of Liverpool not just the council. Such a denial now appears undermined. Welcome to our Facebook page. ", This condemnation of the UAE for a crackdown on citizens criticising the ruling regime is relatively recent. The Premier League club, though, have unquestionably become the most prominent global projection of Abu Dhabi itself, sponsored by four state-owned companies: the airline Etihad, the telecommunications company Etisalat, the investment company Aabar and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. They pointed out that the system allowed for a club like Manchester United to be saddled with hundreds of millions of pounds of debt and interest repayments by its Florida-based owners the Glazers - who also take tens of millions out of the club for themselves each year - yet punished City. Test yourself with these 12 questions, Do you know your local leaders from your Manchester suburbs? Terry Burke, Manchester town halls head of corporate technical services, was suspended on full pay in August 2012. As they include middle-aged, educated people, they say it is ridiculous to accuse them of believing they could overthrow the regime, given the wealth,might and security apparatus of the UAE. G`RQ? c57aRx>h(UcEhR[vF2(*_U7e:UJYtx*@/0ArR*Dg' 5 eU?HF>n;UO2T For a city that remains fiercely anti-Tory, there was barely a ripple of opposition to the intervention by Boris Johnsons government. "I lost my job, I have been beaten up twice, so I am paying a high price. The political fallout, however, may only just have begun. "He has had one of the biggest impacts that any politician I can think of has made. Three former officials at the Manchester Municipal Corporation and two of their co-accused have been convicted for their roles in a fraud scheme that fleeced the local government authority approximately $400 million. So far the claims of financial malpractice fall into two broad categories; firstly, that sponsorship deals were artificially inflated and not valued fairly or independent (as City previously insisted), with tens of millions of pounds thought to have been paid by commercial partners, actually coming directly and discreetly from the club's owner. Mansour is among the most powerful group in Abu Dhabi with the crown prince Sheikh Mohammed and their other "full" brothers by Sheikha Fatima, one of the six wives married to the former ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan. Read about our approach to external linking. 2023 BBC. Mubarak accompanied Sheikh Mohammed to that meeting. "That should be of concern to football supporters as well as human rights organisations. Then, on Thursday, Alexander Sittenfeld became the third member of the City Council charged with corruption when he was arrested at home and charged with taking $40,000 in bribes while. That is why the NIA boss is calling for other corruption cases like the Petrojam matter, to be brought swiftly before the courts. A report to the Labour-run council said while government funding for 2022/23 was . Beth Abbit, editor of the M.E.N's Mancunian Way newsletter, puts readers to the test, Tragedy as woman, 31, dies on way home from work as nightclub shot girl, Kelsey Stuttard, from Cheadle, suffered catastrophic injuries in the 3am smash, 'Hold my hands up' - Graeme Souness admits he got it wrong about Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez, The Argentinian was picked apart following defeat at Brentford but has since been a revelation in red, 'I witnessed my first murder aged 11 and I was stabbed and left for dead - now I fight gang culture', Mark, from Moss Side, became a victim himself after leaving prison for armed robbery. I must admit - Nicky Butt concedes he was wrong about Manchester United hero Casemiro. One of the most persistent, Ahmed Mansoor, was kept in jail for eight months before being sentenced to three years in prison for criticising the regime. A council chief has been sacked following an investigation into alleged corruption. City supporters are used to such scrutiny of course. Read about our approach to external linking. It is led by Sir Richard Leese. 65,550 - 70,785 per annum. Last summer, after the number of people arrested had grown to over 50, the official Emirates News Agency stated that the security services' investigation revealed that those arrested had "set up links with external elements, and had worked in an organised and systematic manner, causing harm to the country and spreading false information, in order to incite others against the country and to distort its shining image before the world". Mubarak has always emphasised that City is a private business acquisition by Sheikh Mansour, with Mubarak charged to make it profitable, worth more than the 1bn spent, in 10 years. xZ[o\~_q[`$6A ?$E iWRbi%[y_9+N6 xx|s#L}tYlNWW3T0}q=;q^8^aV9[vs!`JrB],ui]}Xj3*u\_FanE?tj=PL>=-Pe$fLNk4dr)|6c|FmH&zmh)R9OL/KaOO| The former Football Association chairman Lord Triesman proposed including in the sports authorities' "fit and proper person test" for club owners consideration of HRW's human rights reports by country. Now I finally have relief from endometriosis', Police searching for wanted teen over a 'serious assault', Heywood: Man wanted on suspicion of violent crimes, Water company issues update after pipe bursts in Bolton, Relaunch of Sing! (two-thirds of which was suspended and avoided) along with restrictions on their European squad and incoming transfers, that the club were found to have breached the FFP rules. And while some observers will be dismayed by Der Spiegel's rare and fascinating insight into the murky underbelly of the football industry, and the decisions apparently taken by City's hierarchy as they plotted their assault on English football's established order, others will merely view it as reinforcing their suspicions and their perceptions of a game already tainted by a series of financial controversies. HRW made specific reference to Manchester City, arguing that ownership of the Premier League club is enabling Abu Dhabi to "construct a public relations image of a progressive, dynamic Gulf state, which deflects attention from what is really going on in the country". His wife, Tasha-Gaye Golbourne Elliot was found guilty of two counts. Elliot and his co-conspirators Harris and Roberts were also found guilty of an act of corruption. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. A senior town hall manager has been suspended amid claims of corruption. A Manchester council spokesman said: Terry Burke, head of corporate technical services, has been dismissed by Manchester city council. The allegations were brought to light by a town hall whistleblower. A spokesman for GB Group, said: As soon as we were informed of Terry Burkes suspension, we offered to assist Manchester council with their investigation. The keenly watched hearing lasted over 4 hours today. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk, 'No one told me it wasn't normal to be hospitalised for period pains. Forty-seven councillors got suspended over Militant we could lose 60.. Only a minority of the UAE population has any kind of vote, the ruling families have been in charge for centuries, and in 2013 it remains a crime to criticise the rulers, belong to a trade union or form any organisation not licensed by the regime. In a series of reports, HRW has highlighted exploitative practices, including burdensome recruitment fees charged to workers before they arrive, low pay of around $8 a day in one of the world's richest countries, the prevailing system of being tied to one employer, and the prohibition on forming a union or striking for better terms. Kulaib was arrested in December and, according to HRW and Amnesty, held incommunicado for five months, during which time he alleged he was held in solitary confinement, subjected to extremes of temperature and sleep deprivation, suspended by his legs from an iron rod and severely beaten by officers, including having his hand sliced open with a razorblade. As our inquiries at a very early stage, we are not in a position to release any further information., A source added: Were confident we run a clean ship which is why were really pleased that people have been comfortable enough to come forward, meaning an investigation is now taking place., A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said: GMP is investigating allegations made about a council officer. A team of Whitehall commissioners has been sent to oversee large parts of the dysfunctional council for at least three years an unprecedented step for a city its size while Labour has ordered an investigation into what went wrong. HRW expressed concerns that the families of most of those arrested did not know where they were for months, and warned there is a close relationship between prisoners held incommunicado and mistreatment. He became leader in May 1996, a month before the IRA planted a huge bomb outside the Manchester Arndale shopping centre, which was timed to coincide with the Euro 96 football tournament. They continue to investigate the case and have interviewed him under caution. Elliot was also found guilty of five other counts of conspiracy to defraud. I took it online and made 25k', Jasmine Shum turned to Instagram after she was banned from selling her creations in the playground, How well do you really know Greater Manchester? This is being done in line with the councils standard procedures. Extent of Manchester City's corruption revealed in the full UEFA judgement - Etihad renegotiated deal four times despite being tied to club for 10 years Posted by Biscan's Boots 2 years ago. And who can forget the 2015 corruption scandal that brought Fifa to its knees? Mubarak is the chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, a strategic government body responsible for advising on Abu Dhabi's international image. The police investigation into the case is still ongoing. There is almost a personification of the values we hold as Abu Dhabi, with the values of the club and the values we would like to stick to. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. The Abu Dhabi cash and Mubarak's and his other executives' business expertise are transforming not only Manchester City but the stadium that was built with 127m lottery and local council money for the 2002 Commonwealth Games as a means of regenerating east Manchester. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Sibblies has also been found guilty of conspiracy to defraud. Sign up to the MySalford newsletter to keep up with what's happening in and around the city. Amnesty said the trial showed "a deeply flawed judicial system" at odds with the "global image the UAE likes to project of itself as an efficient, forward-thinking country, which in many ways it is". There is absolutely no suggestion that GB Building Solutions are complicit in any way. I took it online and made 25k', Jasmine Shum turned to Instagram after she was banned from selling her creations in the playground, How well do you really know Greater Manchester? Seven Logan City Councillors and former mayor Luke Smith had all been charged by Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) with fraud relating to former council chief executive Sharon . Quite the opposite. A senior town hall manager has been suspended amid claims of corruption. Announcing his resignation, he said his "commitment to the city and the city region remains undiminished". Manchester City is run by Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the chairman, a senior Abu Dhabi government and business figure, who works principally for Sheikh Mohammed. Littleborough community choir, Chorley Old Road closed after car crashes into electrical box, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Russian minister laughed at for Ukraine war claims. Skip to main content. "There is insufficient evidence that a multiparty system works in the Arab world," Gargashsaid. Man United were heavily linked with a move for Dutch attacker Cody Gakpo prior to his move to Liverpool in January. An officer has been suspended while we carry out our investigation. We along with others, have made clear our concerns about allegations of torture and mistreatment, and some aspects of the way the trial was conducted, such as lack of access to international observers, accusations that defendants could not access their lawyers, and the length of the sentencing.".
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