West Adelaide undecided on whether to ask police to investigate suspected fraud at the club

WEST Adelaide says it remains undecided on whether it will ask police to investigate a suspected case of serious fraud involving a former employee.

West Adelaide players and coach Andrew Collins leave the field after losing the 2013 preliminary final to North Adelaide. Pic...

WEST Adelaide Football Club says it remains undecided on whether it will ask police to formally investigate a suspected case of serious fraud involving a former employee.

SA Police this week said the case had been reported but was not currently under investigation, at the request of the club.

“The matter is not currently being investigated at the request of the football club,” a police spokeswoman said.

But the Bloods’ chief executive, John Kantilaftas, said the police statement applied to discussions the club had with SAPOL when reporting the incident before Christmas.

He said the club was still in the middle of its own investigation at that time and asked that police not become involved until the internal probe concluded.

He said the club would decide over the next month whether to push for charges.

“The statement that the police put out about the case currently not being under investigation at the request of the football club was a statement that applied prior to Christmas,’’ said Mr Kantilaftas.

“(At that time) we were undertaking our investigation and we hadn’t gone to our AGM and board meeting there after.

“Therefore, in the next month or so we will continue to consider that situation.”

In November, The Sunday Mail reported West discovered up to $150,000 had been misappropriated by a former employee and that the club recouped the money privately.

The club continued to investigate the matter and last week released a statement saying further misappropriation had been discovered, and admitted by the ex-staffer.

West said restitution had been offered the additional funds accepted.

West Adelaide president Richard Sykes on Wednesday strongly defended the club’s actions to date.

He said the financially embattled club’s decision to privately pursue money represented its best chance of recovering it.

“We’ve done everything we can to protect the members’ interests,’’ Mr Sykes said.

The club briefed about 200 members on the case at its Annual General Meeting on Monday night.

A member told The Advertiser the mood of the meeting was slightly tense at times but most members seemed to accept the board’s handling of the matter.

SANFL general manager Chris Davies said the league continued to monitor the situation.

“We have been advised that the West Adelaide Football Club has reported this matter to the police,’’ he said.

“The matter remains unresolved at this point.

“We expect a briefing from the club when it determines the matter has been resolved.”

Also at Monday’s Annual General Meeting the board told members:

■ Mr Sykes and the club’s financial director Dean Withers had personally loaned the club money to keep it running, as it battled to pay debts to various creditors last season;

■ The club sold an estate donated to it by a deceased member and sold five poker machines to raise cash flow and;

■ All of the club’s accounts with creditors had been reduced to 60 days and the club’s debt level had been significantly reduced.

The club announced a $75,764 profit for 2013 — a massive turn around on the previous year’s $505,027 loss.

Mr Sykes, who took over as president a year ago, said he was proud of the job he had done in turning the club around financially but that it was “not out of the woods yet”.

He was re-elected as president for another year this week.

Mr Sykes said the club now had a more sustainable business model and that a new, secure accounting system would make it virtually impossible for the suspected fraud case to be repeated.

Former Hindmarsh Federal Labor MP Steve Georganas was among three newly elected board members.

West Torrens Mayor John Trainer was retained as the club’s patron.

Former president Paul Sperling was given life membership.