Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp had no intention of declaring tax on US$295,000 he received, a court has heard.
Redknapp appeared in London s Southwark Crown Court on Monday alongside his former chairman at Portsmouth, Milan Mandaric, with the pair accused of tax evasion.
Redknapp denied two counts of cheating the public revenue in relation to alleged payments from Mandaric into his Monaco bank account totalling $295,000.
Mandaric, now the Sheffield Wednesday chairman, also denied the charges before a packed courtroom that included several relatives and more than 30 journalists.
John Black QC opened the prosecution s case telling jurors both parties must have known they were avoiding taxes.
These payments were a bung or offshore bonus that the parties had absolutely no intention of paying taxes for, he said.
The charges allege two payments were made to Redknapp from Mandaric. The initial payment of $145,000 is alleged to have been made into Redknapp s Monaco-based account between April 1, 2002 and November 8, 2007 while the second sum of $150,000 was deposited into the same account between May 1, 2004 and November 28, 2007.
Redknapp won the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008 before taking over the managerial role at Tottenham.
