Exclusive: ‘Never paid a cent’

An Australian rugby official caught up in the Rocky Elsom saga has launched a staunch defence of the former Wallabies captain, saying the prosecution’s case is weak and called on the French lawyer at the centre of an arrest warrant being issued for the retired forward to respond.

Last week, Elsom, 13 years after his final Test for the Wallabies, exploded back into the global headlines after an international arrest warrant was issued against the 41-year-old.

The warrant was issued days after Elsom gave a rare interview in Dublin, having returned from Australia ahead of a pre-planned surgery to Ireland – the country he is revered in after a stunning season for Leinster in 2008/09.

The French court sentenced him to five years in prison in his absence for allegedly embezzling money while president and part-owner of Racing Club Narbonne Méditerranée (RCNM).

The court found Elsom guilty of forgery, the use of forgery and misuse of corporate assets and ordered him to pay back €700,000 ($1.13 million) that he was judged to have embezzled.

French lawyer Patrick Tabet also claimed Elsom was found to have made a “completely unjustified” payment of €79k ($A128k) to a former coach and also a €7,200 ($11,670) monthly salary to an Australian resident who “never came to Narbonne” to act as general manager.

As part of a wider investigation into the moment that turned Narbonne’s board against Elsom in 2015, The Roar revealed on Thursday that former Wallaby turned Waratahs assistant Chris Whitaker was the former coach paid the sum of money.

It’s understood Whitaker, who isn’t believed to have done anything wrong, accepted the payout after a change in coaches led to a clean-out of the staff. It’s believed the then RNCM President Bernard Achilla had discussed the settlement with Whitaker.

The other Australian referred to by Tabet is Chris Bayman.

On Thursday, the Australian launched a strong rebuttal of the prosecution’s defence in a statement seen by The Roar.

Bayman, who previously helped save the French Pro D2 club from relegation in 2011, said he was asked by Elsom to assist with the “transition from his administration to the new” in 2016 given his skill set. 

Yet, crucially, Bayman says he was “never paid a cent”.

(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Bayman said he was left “desperately disappointed” that RCNM was relegated two seasons after Elsom had handed over the running of the club.

In supporting Elsom’s claim of innocence, Bayman called on Tabet to respond to his statement.

“I fully support Rocky in his endeavour to clear his name of these ridiculous charges,” he said.

Elsom intends on fighting the charges to clear his name.

However, with the French judicial system notoriously slow – a case involving a trio of former Grenoble players accused of rape is set for December seven years after the alleged event – Elsom does not want to hand himself over to the authorities for fear of being held in custody for years.

“I would say that if I went to France, I would be in custody until the appeal is heard and the timelines mentioned earlier are concerning,” Elsom told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“In France they say the rumour is the bazooka,” he added. “I don’t expect to see anything incriminating in the court documents because there is nothing that says money was improperly spent.”

Read the full statement below: 

“I am the individual who is referred to in the media who was paid €7,200 per month, never came to Narbonne and never did any work.

“As someone who speaks French, knows RCNM in great detail and most of the club’s local board members, I was asked by Rocky Elsom to handle the transition from his administration to the new. 

“The new administration were aware of my nomination and had largely been supportive on the back of my connection with UK sponsors. 

Chris Whitaker. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“However, when the new administration took over, they completely disregarded their support for my employment agreement. I was informed of that by Bernard Archilla and was never paid. 

“This was a foreseeable outcome and for RCNM’s lawyer Mr Tabet to use it as part of the justification for Rocky Elsom’s conviction and prison sentence, shows just how weak their case against Rocky is. 

“For the record, I was never paid a cent of the €7200 but I was pivotal in saving RCNM from relegation in 2011, when it was financially stricken under the guidance of many of the same people that ran it from 2016 to 2018. 

“I have also been to Narbonne a number of times and would like Mr Tabet to respond to my statement. I fully support Rocky in his endeavour to clear his name of these ridiculous charges. 

“I was part of the whole journey in Narbonne, advanced monies when the club needed it and was desperately disappointed that within such a short period of time the new regime undid all the good work that we did to breathe life back into such a great and historic club.”