Prison sentences for former Derby bosses

THREE MEN involved in the fraudulent takeover of a former Premier League football club were jailed yesterday.

Jeremy Keith, former chief executive of Derby County Football Club, ex-finance director Andrew Mackenzie and former director of football Murdo Mackay, were all handed prison sentences at Northampton Crown Court after it was found that they claimed “secret commission” in the deal.

Keith, 41, of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was sentenced to 18 months after previously being found guilty of falsifying documents when he and his associates bought the club for just €3.49 (£3) in 2003.

Mackenzie, 55, of Burton Road, Derby, and 53-year-old Mackay, of Fife, Scotland, were each jailed for three years after they were found guilty of fraud.

David Lowe, their legal adviser during the takeover, was convicted of helping to launder €95,223 of the €512,345 the trio tried to claim as a brokerage fee. He was jailed for two years.

Keith, Mackenzie and Mackay were all disqualified from being company directors – Keith for three years, and the other two for five years.

The court heard that the trio claimed “secret commission” of €512,345 after arranging a €17.4 million loan for the cash-strapped club from a Panama-based corporation.

It was claimed they used the loan as a “carrot” for the club, convincing administrators to sanction the takeover.

During the trial, jurors were told that Derby County, nicknamed the Rams, were struggling in 2003 following their relegation from the Premier League the previous year. The Pride Park club owed more than €40.7 million and had been put into receivership by the Co-op Bank, the court heard.

The judge said although the club was “clearly undergoing difficulties both on the field and in its financial affairs” in 2003, the evidence during the trial suggested it would not have been allowed to go out of existence.

He also told Mackenzie, described by one witness as “Mr Derby”, that he had breached a position of trust and appeared to show no remorse.

He said he had “little regard” for those he beguiled and said his suggestion that what he did was acceptable in the football world was understandably rejected by the jury.

The men may be liable for the cost of bringing the prosecution which reached about €290.623.