Topic: Bruce Blake
Convicted former football execs in court over $100,000 loan
A Grand Court judge has ruled that former Cayman Islands Football Association executive Canover Watson does not need to pay back his CIFA colleague Bruce Blake US$100,000 he borrowed to pay for a defence lawyer.
Former football executive’s fraud sentence cut by appeals court
An appeal against conviction for a massive football
Man acquitted of jury tampering over football corruption case
A man accused of tampering with a Grand Court jury in the hopes of setting free former Cayman Islands Football Association executives, has been acquitted of the charge.
Man on trial for jury tampering
A man accused of jury tampering in relation to a high-profile money-laundering case involving former Cayman Islands Football Association executives, has refuted the allegations, claiming instead that he was misunderstood.
Man accused of jury tampering in football corruption case
A George Town man is expected to stand trial on charges of jury tampering, after prosecutors say he tried to arrange the acquittal of two men who were convicted in a football fraud trial.
Football executives land multiple-year jail sentence following fraud trial
Disgraced football executive Canover Watson has been sentenced to eight years in jail following his conviction on fraud and money-laundering charges.
Prosecutors call for lengthy prison sentences for Watson and Blake
Prosecutors are calling for sentences of up to 14 years and seven years, respectively, for former Cayman Islands Football Association and CONCACAF executives Canover Watson and Bruce Blake, for defrauding the local and regional governing football bodies between 2013 and 2014.
Jury finds Watson guilty on all counts in football fraud trial
A jury has found Canover Watson guilty on all counts in a fraud trial that accused him of sending false invoices for US$1.54 million to regional football confederation CONCACAF and then laundering the stolen funds. His co-accused Bruce Blake was found guilty of false accounting but cleared of money laundering charges.
Jury considering verdict in football corruption case
The jury has been sent out to consider its verdict in the trial of two former Caribbean football executives accused of corruption.
Evidence in football fraud trial closes for jury deliberations
The evidence in the fraud trial against Canover Watson and Bruce Blake ended this week with defence lawyers claiming in their final remarks that the Crown had totally misunderstood its own case against Watson and that Blake may have erred in judgment but had trusted his fellow Cayman Islands Football Association (CIFA) executive.
Blake denies money laundering and false accounting charges
Former Cayman Islands Football Association executive Bruce Blake has concluded his four-day testimony in an ongoing fraud trial to deny money laundering-related and false accounting charges.
Auditor: CIFA loan agreements did not seem ‘kosher’
Auditors raised red flags about suspicious loan transactions for US$1.2 million when they examined the Cayman Islands Football Association’s books.
Fidelity removed CIFA property charge after CONCACAF card deal
Fidelity agreed to remove a charge on CIFA property securing a loan after receiving a US$500,000 deposit from CONCACAF in relation to a prepaid card services contract given to the bank.
Jeffrey Webb was lining up ‘war chest’ for FIFA presidency bid, trial hears
Allies of former Cayman football chief Jeffrey Webb were seeking to line up a $100 million 'fighting fund' to help install him as the top official in the world game, a court heard last week.
Key witness ‘unaware’ of $1.5m invoices in soccer trial
A former salesman for a sports equipment manufacturer told a court Friday he had no knowledge of US $1.54 million dollars worth of invoices filed in the company’s name with regional football governing body CONCACAF.
Alleged false invoices paid by CONCACAF were ‘excessive’
An allegedly fraudulent bill for 15,000 ushers' vests for the 2013 Gold Cup was sent a week after the football tournament started and the quantity was unrealistic, the court heard in the trial against Canover Watson and Bruce Blake on Tuesday.
Witness: CONCACAF paid $1.54 million but has no record of goods received
The court heard evidence from CONCACAF’s Head of Finance, David Cruz, who in 2013 processed $1.54 million in payments to a Panamanian company allegedly controlled by Canover Watson.
Trial against former football executives Watson and Blake opens
The trial against former football executives Canover Watson and Bruce Blake started on Friday, five years after their initial arrest and three years after they were charged.
Watson, Blake deny CIFA fraud-related charges
Two former soccer officials have denied multiple corruption charges linked to claims they fraudulently funnelled cash through the Cayman Islands Football Association bank account.
Former football execs appear in Grand Court
Two former high‑ranking football officials made their initial appearances in Grand Court Friday to answer to several corruption‑related charges.
Football exec Blake vows to fight corruption charges
Football executive Bruce Blake has vowed to “vigorously defend” himself against corruption allegations after being charged with multiple offences late last week.
FIFA signals CIFA will receive renewed funding
Cayman was welcomed back into the global football community Friday, when FIFA President Gianni Infantino led a delegation to visit the headquarters of the Cayman Islands Football Association.
Former football officials Watson, Blake charged
Two former senior officials of the Cayman Islands Football Association have been charged with a string of offences, including money laundering and false accounting, in connection with an ongoing corruption probe.
Sources: Watson arrested again in football funds probe
Cayman Islands businessman Canover Watson was arrested Monday by officers from the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Cayman Compass has confirmed through numerous official sources.
Football association Vice President arrested
Local attorney and Cayman Islands Football Association Vice President Bruce Blake was arrested last week in connection with a corruption and money laundering probe.
Football association seeks new leader
The Cayman Islands Football Association will hold an election in May to find a successor to disgraced former president Jeffrey Webb.
Loans, gifts and graft: CIFA and CONCACAF’s Panama connections
A Panamanian company set up by Canover Watson that was allegedly used to receive a $1.1 million bribe payment from Traffic Sports to Jeffrey Webb is the same entity that had a controversial $600,000 loan agreement with the Cayman Islands Football Association, documents reveal.
Soccer bosses vote for reform ahead of election
Leaders of regional soccer federation CONCACAF, including Cayman’s Bruce Blake, met in Switzerland on Thursday to approve a series of reforms that the organization hopes will put an era of corruption and excess behind it.
CONCACAF drops kickback lawsuit
Regional soccer governing body CONCACAF has dropped its lawsuit against California travel company Cartan Tours, which it accused of paying kickbacks to its former president Jeffrey Webb to secure a lucrative business arrangement.
EDITORIAL – FIFA scandal fallout: not just ‘not over,’ but barely begun
Canover Watson is in Northward Prison. Jeffrey Webb is under house arrest in Georgia. And yet the local fallout from the global FIFA scandal has barely started.
Blake ‘heartbroken’ by latest CIFA claims
Cayman football boss Bruce Blake says he is “sad and heartbroken” by allegations that money intended for the national football Centre of Excellence may...
