Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom is set to learn his fate next month after a French public prosecutor requested an adjusted three-year prison sentence with an arrest warrant and a fine of €630,000 ($1,040,602.50) in Narbonne Criminal Court last Friday. A judgment will be made in March.
Elsom was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison in October after being convicted of embezzling money while serving as president and part-owner of French rugby club Narbonne a decade ago.
A document seen by this masthead granted the French prosecutor an exemption from issuing a summons to Elsom to appear in court last October. As a result, the former champion back-rower was unable to offer a defence after French authorities did not alert him to the trial.
Elsom’s Paris-based lawyer Yann le Bras filed an opposition to the sentence at the Narbonne criminal court.
Elsom was not present at the latest hearing last week and was represented in court by Le Bras. A judgment is set to be heard on March 14 which could potentially void the original decision against Elsom.
Elsom’s current whereabouts are unknown after he left Ireland, where he worked as a rugby coach at a Dublin high school, in October.
Rocky Elsom shares a photo of himself in November
Elsom told this masthead in November that Irish police had subsequently visited his residence and workplace to execute a European arrest warrant and extradite him to France.
Elsom was not available for comment after a request from this masthead but has strongly maintained his innocence against all charges.
In financial documents seen by this masthead, Racing Club Narbonne had a cash balance of €573,778.04 ($946,521.47) in June 2016, with Elsom departing as club president the next month. By June 2017, the club’s cash balance had dropped to €244,642.18 ($403,569.08).
Spending also significantly increased after Elsom’s departure according to the documents, with player salaries rising by 24 per cent, coach salaries up by 98 per cent, and commercial and administrative staff costs surging by 94 per cent.
Elsom is not expected to return to France for the March hearing due the likelihood he would be placed in custody before the hearing, but Le Bras said that he hoped that his client will be acquitted of the charges next month.
“First of all, I requested that the arrest warrant and the accusation act be declared null and void for flagrant disregard of elementary procedural rules,” Le Bras said in a statement.
“On the merits, the investigation was focused on expenses, without any mention of income or contractual obligations. There is no asset abuse in this case, and I hope that the court will acquit Mr Elsom, who neither stole nor plundered this club during the 10 months he was in office before a change of governance.
“He essentially paid salaries due to players …Everything needs to be reviewed and analysed by the court.”
