New beginnings - 25% Truth, 80% Bollocks

[Formerly Drummer Boy]

Grab your popcorn and buckle up boys and girls. Things on the pitch might be looking rosey but volcanos are bubbling away behind the scenes. There is only so much water that can be pushed uphill before it comes back down.

It’s just a matter of time now.

[Hyabb17]

Grab your popcorn and buckle up boys and girls. Things on the pitch might be looking rosey but volcanos are bubbling away behind the scenes. There is only so much water that can be pushed uphill before it comes back down.

It’s just a matter of time now.

Ownership battles, two want to sell, one doesn't I assume?

[Bob's Orange]

Grab your popcorn and buckle up boys and girls. Things on the pitch might be looking rosey but volcanos are bubbling away behind the scenes. There is only so much water that can be pushed uphill before it comes back down.

It’s just a matter of time now.

Is this linked to the lack of AB minutes at all?

[theakston2k]

tl;dr

…if your laundering money via a loss making football club wouldn’t the end goal be selling the club?

Theoretically not really. You put in the dirty money as loans so the cash goes into the business accounts and then pay yourself/others the money back via business accounts, say as admin expenses. Then as if by magic you’ve got clean money as you can show authorities a ‘legitimate’ source of where the cash came from.

[Andyred83]

I thought it was in the 6-8m range in 2024. Might be wrong.


https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/24950460.swindon-town-8-million-debt-owner-clem-morfuni/

I think we can expect to see a large loss for the year ended 31.05.25 if Clem says he has put in £8m in total as at Feb 24.

The accounts to May 24 had him owed £5,138,498.29 (Per the Goal Assist report Note 13) Which was a increase of £2,201,093.29, as he was owed £2,937,405 as at May 23.

This means that from June 24 to Feb 25 he has invested £2,861,501.71 (Minimum) in the first 9 months. If these figures are true we are pushing £12m owed to him now given the lower ST and crowds being down! Where does this end!  

[Batch]

Yes agreed. As per the adver link

Trust chair Neil Hutchings told BBC Radio Wiltshire in January: “Clem has had to continue to fund the club probably to the tune of £1.5 million a year, so although the club haven’t released any updated finances for nearly a year now, we suspect that the debt owed to Clem Morfuni is probably in the region of £9-10 million.

“It is all well and good us relying on the overdraft facilities that Clem Morfuni is giving us but in five years time that [debt] is going to be nearer £20 million.

“From a Trust perspective, we feel it is fine Clem funding us day to day but what is he doing to help take the club forward? How is he generating that additional revenue? How is he bringing supporters in and bringing back supporters?

"We have to start addressing some of these other issues, if he doesn't, for the sake of the long-term security of the club, I don't see how continuing to build up debt year on year with no solution to pay it off helps anybody."

Win, lose, draw i- t doesn't change this.

[DV]

Theoretically not really. You put in the dirty money as loans so the cash goes into the business accounts and then pay yourself/others the money back via business accounts, say as admin expenses. Then as if by magic you’ve got clean money as you can show authorities a ‘legitimate’ source of where the cash came from.

Yes. I get that but once you’ve cleaned your money you’d sell right?
If you could sell & get anything back on the loans that’s extra profit? Even if it was like 50% upfront & 50% over x years - you’re still getting extra money

If the loans add up to 8m how much more could ‘they’ possible have to clean?

[horlock07]

8 figures means he gets more than his money back.

To be honest, and setting aside whether there are shenanigans or not it I was pumping 200-300k a month into a business I would be expecting to get more than just my money back. But similarly if I was having to pump that figure into something just to keep it afloat and the business owned no assets of any great value I couldn't see anyone in their right mind paying more than about a tenner for it anyway.

https://x.com/DanWood_Adver/status/1968202330433786171?s=19

Nothing shouts professional journalism than going all Mystic Meg ITK on line, yeah I know he won’t talk to you (kind of understandable if this is how they work, but for fuck sake....

[horlock07]

Yes. I get that but once you’ve cleaned your money you’d sell right?
If you could sell & get anything back on the loans that’s extra profit? Even if it was like 50% upfront & 50% over x years - you’re still getting extra money

If the loans add up to 8m how much more could ‘they’ possible have to clean?

If such an allegation were correct I suppose it depends whether the laundry is a one off or there is a continuing stream of money needing treatment.

All of this is entirely hypothetical anyway and just adds to the myths and rumours regarding the club, long and short remains that anyone of substance and probity would want to see the books and either if things are as bent as suggested on SM club won't allow it or investor will run away sharpish, so its chancer city ahead....

[Peter Venkman]

If such an allegation were correct I suppose it depends whether the laundry is a one off or there is a continuing stream of money needing treatment.

This.

[theakston2k]

Yes. I get that but once you’ve cleaned your money you’d sell right?
If you could sell & get anything back on the loans that’s extra profit? Even if it was like 50% upfront & 50% over x years - you’re still getting extra money

If the loans add up to 8m how much more could ‘they’ possible have to clean?

As Horlock says it depends how long you can milk the vehicle and how much cleaning is needed. There’s a lot of money to be made by more shady individuals from loss making companies.

The big concern would be that this type of activity would make the business almost impossible to sell as it would be difficult to hide 100% inside the business accounts so do you just milk it until the business collapses, that would be a concern.

All entirely theoretical anyway as we only have genuine business people involved in the running of STFC….

[4D]

Oops....

https://x.com/IndiaToday/status/1968248694928769281

[Formerly Drummer Boy]

Is this linked to the lack of AB minutes at all?

Nah, separated story. Hopefully by the end of the week, the truth behind that will be public one way or another. Ideally the club produce minutes that are not Mandie Coe format.

[Ƭ̵̬̊: The Artist Formerly Known as CWIG]

Yes. I get that but once you’ve cleaned your money you’d sell right?
If you could sell & get anything back on the loans that’s extra profit? Even if it was like 50% upfront & 50% over x years - you’re still getting extra money

If the loans add up to 8m how much more could ‘they’ possible have to clean?

Can be an ongoing process. You can always make more illegal money.

[Batch]

To be honest, and setting aside whether there are shenanigans or not it I was pumping 200-300k a month into a business I would be expecting to get more than just my money back. But similarly if I was having to pump that figure into something just to keep it afloat and the business owned no assets of any great value I couldn't see anyone in their right mind paying more than about a tenner for it anyway.

Also to be clear, I have not and never have had a problem with Clem flipping the club for profit.
There are caveats to that - e.g. selling on to the next in line of the same group/a Jed McC(r)ory.

There is a positive to his ownership. Debts have been internalised, and as far as we know any winding up orders are down to incompetence rather than genuine threat of appearing on "can't pay we'll take it away"

My issue is we are not progressing as a club off the field, and the debts are wracking up. I'd be surprised if it was sustainable - but if it is where are we headed?  Another decade of drifting.

At least the football is good.