Gardaí to tackle soccer league’s ‘missing’ €208k

GARDAÍ have confirmed they have received a report that more than €208,000 of Cork Athletic Union League (AUL) funds is unaccounted for.

A spokesman for the Garda Fraud Squad in Anglesea Street said they had received the report from legal representatives of the soccer league, but added it was too early to say what action would be taken on it.

News of the allegedly unaccounted-for money was broken to representatives of more than 50 AUL clubs at a meeting called by the soccer league’s executive committee.

The meeting, which took place last Thursday night at the Ambassador Hotel, was also attended by FAI vice-president Tony Fitzgerald, FAI director of football support services Gerry McDermott and AUL chairman Ted O’Mahony.

Mr O’Mahony revealed that a total of €208,480 was unaccounted for in bank accounts.

Of this amount, one cheque for €55,129.95 is identified as having been written to a third party unconnected with the Cork AUL.

The FAI has been unable to identify the recipient of another cheque made out for €50,000.

The balance of €77,387 is unaccounted for based on the records to hand and no evidence has yet been found to show how or where this money was taken from the accounts, or for what reason.

While accounts were presented to the AUL on an annual basis, the league’s auditors informed them they hadn’t been asked to audit the accounts for a number of years.

None of the current executive members of the AUL are under investigation and the organisation said it wouldn’t be making any further comments on the matter.

It is understood that inconsistencies between the books and the bank accounts were uncovered following the death of a former AUL official.

After internal checks were carried out it appeared to the committee that money appearing against the financial accounts was unaccounted for in its bank accounts.

The committee then conducted its own inquiry and concluded that substantial sums were missing and informed the FAI and the gardaí.

The AUL solicitor, Jerome O’Sullivan, handed over the internal report to the gardaí.

He has been instructed by the AUL to investigate the possibility of recovering some, if not all, of the missing funds.