Former Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom has broken his silence, insisting he is innocent after being convicted of embezzling money while president and majority owner of French rugby club Narbonne a decade ago.
In a statement issued exclusively to this masthead, Elsom denied any wrongdoing after a French court last week placed an international arrest warrant on him and sentenced him in his absence to five years’ jail.
Rocky Elsom celebrates Leinster’s historic Heineken Cup final victory in 2009.Credit: Getty Images
Elsom has engaged a lawyer in France to appeal the court’s decision. “I would like to make it clear that I was not informed of this hearing and was not given the opportunity to defend myself against the allegations,” Elsom said in the statement.
The court found Elsom guilty of forgery, the use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets and ordered him to pay back a total of €700,000 ($1.13 million) that he was judged to have embezzled.
French lawyer Patrick Tabet also claimed that Elsom was found to have made a “completely unjustified” payment of €79,000 ($128,000) to a former coach, and also paid a €7,200 ($11,670) monthly salary to an Australian resident who “never came to Narbonne” to act as general manager, and who “did not provide any services” to the club.
Elsom, currently living in Dublin, called on Tabet to send him the documents used to secure the five-year prison sentence against him.
“In the interests of a fair and just process, I would ask Mr Tabet to send me a complete list of the documents and filings he used to secure the reported five-year prison sentence,” he said.
He also criticised the decision to hear the case against him in his absence. “Not allowing me to defend the charges, is a clear perversion of justice,” Elsom said.
“I have little more information on the evidence that was presented in the hearing [other] than [what] is in the public domain. So, I can only address the allegations that have been raised publicly.
“I ask the public to consider the legitimacy of any process that does not allow for the involvement of the person being prosecuted.
“I have been contactable via my email address and phone number, yet it appears the court process was fast-tracked after an article appeared recently in The Sunday Times. This article gave my location, occupation and upcoming scheduled events.
“I have not been questioned in this matter and the lengthy process seems to have deliberately excluded me from giving evidence.”
Elsom defended his tenure at the club, from 2013-16, saying that Narbonne had been successful on and off the field, recording solid profits and strong sporting results.
Under his stewardship, he said, Narbonne had stayed in France’s second division – the Pro D2 – but had been relegated soon after his departure.
Elsom said he believed he had been “scapegoated” for the mismanagement of the club after he left.
Elsom defended his financial record at the club, saying it had recorded profits of €358,000 in season 2013-14, €400,000 in 2014-15 and a loss of €350,000 in 2015-16.
He also pointed to a number of records the club had secured under his leadership, including the most wins in a season, the only recorded undefeated home season and the highest annual attendance for a Pro D2 season.
