Football agent Willie McKay 'bought gifts while facing bankruptcy', court told

A football agent spent more than £63,000 on gifts for his wife to ensure the money was not "swallowed up" in bankruptcy proceedings, a court heard.

Willie McKay, 62, bought a £9,100 watch and a £54,000 car in December 2014 despite having been served with a bankruptcy petition due to unpaid taxes of around £902,000.

Prosecutors allege he bought the gifts in a bid "to defraud his creditors".

Mr McKay denies two counts of fraudulent disposal of property.

Prosecutor Andrew Evans told Leeds Crown Court Mr McKay was a self-employed football agent who earned commissions from negotiating contracts with football clubs on behalf of players.

He said in June 2014 HM Revenue and Customs issued Mr McKay with a statutory demand for tax arrears in the sum of £902,128.

However, when he did not make any payment a bankruptcy petition was personally served on Mr McKay in September the same year.

The jury was told that three months later the agent bought his wife a Rolex watch from a jeweller in Leeds and, in the following days, a Jaguar XK5 convertible, which was delivered to their Doncaster home on Christmas Eve.

Mr Evans said: "Buying your wife lavish and expensive Christmas presents is not in itself a criminal offence.

"What the prosecution say in this case was the reason why he bought those lavish gifts for his wife at a time when he was facing bankruptcy proceedings was because he intended to ensure that the benefit of those monies went to his wife, rather than to the taxman and get swallowed up in his bankruptcy and used to pay his debts.

"He made those purchases in order to defraud his creditors by placing them beyond their reach in order to defeat their claims on his bankruptcy estate."

He told the jury Mr McKay will argue he "genuinely believed" at the time he would be able to repay the money he owed from outstanding commissions he was owed.

But the prosecutor said any money paid to the defendant would not have been enough to pay off his debts, which had risen to more than £5m by January 2017.

The court heard Mr McKay was made bankrupt in March 2015 and later signed a bankruptcy restrictions undertaking that will continue until August 2023.

The trial continues.

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