MEP makes fraud claim against council over Ricoh funding

[Sub]

http://coventryobserver.co.uk/2014/...against-council-over-Ricoh-funding-99270.html

MEP makes fraud claim against council over Ricoh funding

By Steve Carpenter Tuesday 11 March 2014 Updated: 11/03 10:08



MEP NIKKI Sinclaire is reporting the council to the European Union's anti-fraud department over the use of funding received for the Ricoh Arena project.
The council received £4.75 million in 2003 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which is given to help projects designed to benefit regional or local economies.
Ms Sinclaire, who in January called for the resignation of council leader Ann Lucas over the Ricoh row with the Sky Blues, made a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the council asking what the ERDF money was used for.

She made the same request to the European Commission but the answers did not match.
The council's response to the FOI request confirmed they had received the funding to assist with the purchase of the Ricoh site from HBG Holdings Limited and said the grant was not used for the construction of the stadium.

But the European Commission awarded the funding solely towards the cost of the conference and exhibition activity within the Arena development.
It was also given to support the creation of two bus hubs which enabled two public transport initiatives to take place in the area.

In a speech about the ERDF in Strasbourg, she said the council may have something to hide and has referred the matter to the EU anti-Fraud department, OLAF, for investigation into this use of taxpayers’ money.

Ms Sinclaire said: “ERDF is promoted as a benefit of the EU yet we see precious seldom of that fund which is after all the UK Taxpayers money being returned to us much reduced and with strings attached.
“With other information that has come to my attention in the past year, and the constant refusal of the council to meet with me about these discrepancies in funding I can only conclude they have something to hide.

“Imagine my surprise when the answer did not match. In fact they could not be further apart.
“When the Commission sought to ascertain the situation the council changed their position.
“There is something rotten at the heart of Coventry Council. Is there something fraudulent as well?”



Read more: MEP makes fraud claim against council over Ricoh funding | Coventry Observer

 

[ccfcway]

wahey, another court battle on the way ?

comes to something when we spend more time looking at the running order of court rooms than we do the league table !

 

[CovFan]

Are there European parliment elections coming up?

Oh, surprise surprise there are.

 

[Huckerby]

haha. talk about fixture congestion and the pitch at sixfields....can you imagine what the carpets in these courtrooms are going to look like???

 

[Mary_Mungo_Midge]

“Imagine my surprise when the answer did not match. In fact they could not be further apart.”

That's directly from the Viz letters page.....

 

[Nick]

Can't she say what the answers were?

It is a bit of a hefty statement to make with fraud and council together....Should she expect her own legal battle?

 

[ccfcway]

has anyone ever seen Ms Sinclair and Ms Seppela in the same room ?

just asking

 

[ccfcway]

Can't she say what the answers were?

It is a bit of a hefty statement to make with fraud and council together....Should she expect her own legal battle?

did the question involve turkeys and eagles ?

 

[lamtara2006]

Just smacks of Sinclaire trying to make political capital out of the continuing misery of Coventry City fans.

 

[ccfcway]

we have been to court more times in 12 months than Wigan have been to wembley

 

[CovFan]

If the investigation finds that the council did nothing wrong she could claim it's another reason why the EU are pointless.

If the investigation finds that the council did something wrong she could stick another knife into the council she seems to absolutely despise.

She's in a no-lose situation here.


EDIT//She's just deleted a tweet where she claimed that the council may have lied to FOI request.

EDIT2// tweet was misinterpreted. Apologys.

 

[chiefdave]

This seems pointless to me. Unless the implication is that CCC have pocketed the money somewhere along the line does it really matter? I don't see how this benefits the people of Coventry or helps with getting us back to the Ricoh.

 

[chiefdave]

Are there European parliment elections coming up?

Oh, surprise surprise there are.

With a bit of luck she'll get no votes and that will be the last we hear of her.

 

[covcity4life]

corrupt council sink to a new low?

 

[Nick]

She probably is looking for publicity, but then again she probably was when she was speaking at that March on the stage and people were all cheering her.

What has changed her stance?

 

[Sub]

perhaps she has swung to the right now :thinking about:

 

[SkyBlue_Bear83]

So Gillingham away tonight, score predictions?

 

[Nick]

Surely if she is spouting about the council committing fraud she is wide open to libel?

 

[mark82]

She probably is looking for publicity, but then again she probably was when she was speaking at that March on the stage and people were all cheering her.

What has changed her stance?

It was when she met Joy.

 

[Mary_Mungo_Midge]

corrupt council sink to a new low?

Look, it's not fair on administrators of this board to post fare such as that. Their responsibility for your errant thoughts are a well-documented issue on here, and you should have more respect for their livelihood then to post lines that could get them into hot water

 

[Mary_Mungo_Midge]

Surely if she is spouting about the council committing fraud she is wide open to libel?

Read the wording Nick. It's very, very carefully worded. You just need to make sure other posters exercise the same level of discretion, irrespective of what the voices in their heads are telling them...

 

[lordsummerisle]

Look, it's not fair on administrators of this board to post fare such as that. Their responsibility for your errant thoughts are a well-documented issue on here, and you should have more respect for their livelihood then to post lines that could get them into hot water

You're right, in fact remember you jumping to the defence of Appleton wielding your sword of truth and decency when such accuations were made about him on here.

 

[CovFan]

Surely if she is spouting about the council committing fraud she is wide open to libel?

which is why I think she very quickly deleted it.

 

[chiefdave]

Surely if she is spouting about the council committing fraud she is wide open to libel?

Councils are easy targets for accusations as they are advised against suing for things like libel as it is considered a waste of money. You can accuse a council of pretty much anything and you're not likely to get legal action taken against you unless an individual on the council decides to take action independently of the council.

 

[James Smith]

wahey, another court battle on the way ?

comes to something when we spend more time looking at the running order of court rooms than we do the league table !

Depressing isn't it!

 

[RoboCCFC90]

There is something rotten at the heart of Coventry Council. Is there something fraudulent as well?

More insinuations, court battles and lies, I just want my Club back at the damn Ricoh!!!

 

[fernandopartridge]

I'd be surprised the auditors haven't picked this up, having dealt with European funding myself they are pretty stringent, that said it's down to Advantage West Midlands to assure how the money is spent (they're the co-financing organisation, not CCC).

 

[Mary_Mungo_Midge]

You're right, in fact remember you jumping to the defence of Appleton wielding your sword of truth and decency when such accuations were made about him on here.

I'm not ever-present; I do have a day-job, you know. I'll make such comments as and when I see anyone daft enough to use words such as those on here, irrespective of leaning

 

[fernandopartridge]

I'm not ever-present; I do have a day-job, you know. I'll make such comments as and when I see anyone daft enough to use words such as those on here, irrespective of leaning

It was an off the cuff comment made as a question, it wasn't even a statement. You see more libellous things written on Facebook every day.

 

[Gint11]

So what we know is both reponses (CCC & ERFC) do not match which would imply somebody is telling porkies. And I am reading on here more and more often how innocent the Council are in all this mess. Hmmm.

 

[fernandopartridge]

The other key document is CCC's application to Advantage West Midlands for the ERDF funding.

 

[Nick]

The thing is, I guess it depends how different. If 2 people replied then they could have meant the same thing but worded it differently rather than a generic response.

Hard to tell without seeing the question / answer.

If one replied saying "We used it for the Ricoh" and the other said "We gave it to orphans in Africa" then it is a bit dodgy.

 

[Mary_Mungo_Midge]

It was an off the cuff comment made as a question, it wasn't even a statement. You see more libellous things written on Facebook every day.

It used the word 'corrupt'. That's not insignificant. The difference between Facebook and here is that Mark Zuckerberg has a net worth in the region of $30 billion; whereas I don't think Nick has.

And if there's one thing I've learned over the years, is that there's less justice in the world when your opposer has deeper pockets than you

 

[Nick]

It used the word 'corrupt'. That's not insignificant. The difference between Facebook and here is that Mark Zuckerberg has a net worth in the region of $30 billion; whereas I don't think Nick has.

And if there's one thing I've learned over the years, is that there's less justice in the world when your opposer has deeper pockets than you

I see your point, but people aren't worried about saying things like that or worse about SISU? I will keep my eye on the thread and if it gets a bit out of hand then I will step in.

 

[John_Silletts_Nose]

She probably is looking for publicity, but then again she probably was when she was speaking at that March on the stage and people were all cheering her.

What has changed her stance?

She did make a complete change in her stance after meeting with Joy Seppala.
She has not delivered any compelling evidence to explain the about-turn, so what was it that caused her to change her mind.