Seven arrested after missing £10.25m football loan

Seven people have been arrested in connection with £10.25m loan to Northampton Town Football Club which has gone missing.

Northamptonshire Police have released a statement saying it is investigating “allegations of theft and fraud, bribery, misconduct in public office and electoral offences”.

The arrests centre around a loan Northampton Borough Council made in 2013 to redevelop the Sixfields stadium.

Northants Police say that nine other people have also been interviewed under caution.

A statement from the force said: “Northamptonshire Police continue to investigate the complex circumstances of the lending, use, and loss of £10.25 million of public money which was set aside for the redevelopment of Sixfields Stadium, the home of Northampton Town FC.

“To protect the integrity of this large financial investigation we do not routinely comment on the work ongoing, however, we recognise that this must be balanced against the understandable public interest.

“As part of 700 separate lines of inquiry we continue to investigate and analyse the results of thousands of financial transactions, relating to allegations of theft and fraud, bribery, misconduct in public office and electoral offences.

“To date, this has resulted in over 500 statements and reports being produced and more than 2,100 exhibits being seized.

“With the strict legal time limitations on how long an arrested person can remain in police custody or on bail, it often better serves the investigation of complex matters for interviews to be conducted voluntarily, but under caution.

“To date this investigation has resulted in the arrest of seven individuals from across the country, with a further nine interviewed at length under caution.

“It is envisaged the investigative activity will continue for some months yet and so, at this stage, it is not appropriate to comment further on the nature of the interviews or the identity of those interviewed.

As a prosecution decision file will only be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service at the conclusion of the investigation, at this time no inference should be drawn from the interview of any individual.”

Work on Northampton Town’s East Stand redevelopment at Sixfields Stadium is yet to be completed.