Tag: Bruce Blake
Forward Sport rep confused by Watson’s companies
(CNS): The key witness in a fraud case against football executives Canover Watson and Bruce Blake told the jury he was confused by the companies that Watson created, for which he was named as a partner, as part of the deals to sell football equipment. Shakeel Khawaja, who was a sales manager for Forward Sports […]
Watson’s lawyer challenges fake invoice allegation
(CNS): The attorney representing Canover Watson challenged the false invoice claims at the heart of the crown’s case against his client as he cross examined the prosecution’s first witness on Tuesday. David Cruz, CONCACAF’s financial chief, had confirmed the accusation that three invoices from Forward Sports for over $1.5 million worth of sports kit that […]
Blake points finger at Watson and Webb over CONCACAF fraud
(CNS): Bruce Blake told investigators after he was arrested for money laundering in 2017 that he knew nothing about any dishonesty in relation to the alleged theft from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) of $1.5 million by his colleague, Canover Watson. In interviews, Blake, a former Cayman Islands Football […]
Crown: Watson stole $1.54M in football invoice fraud
(CNS): Canover Watson, the former treasurer of the Cayman Island Football Association (CITA), stole US$1.54 million from CONCACAF, the regional football body, using false and massively overinflated invoices, prosecutors alleged as they opened the decade-long case against Watson and Bruce Blake on Friday. They accused Blake, the former VP of CIFA and at the time […]
Watson charged in football conspiracy
(CNS): Local businessman and former CIFA treasurer Canover Watson (49) has been charged with conspiracy to defraud and converting criminal property in a financial crime case relating to the local and regional football associations stretching back to 2014. CNS understands that former CONCACAF president Jeff Webb is a co-conspirator in the case, along with Charmaine […]
Watson and Blake silent at first court showing
(CNS): The charges against the former treasurer at the Cayman Islands Football Association, Canover Watson, and its current vice president, Bruce Blake, for alleged corruption and related offences have been transmitted to the Grand Court after the two men made their first court appearance Tuesday. Watson and Blake sat a clear distance apart as they […]
FIFA signals return of funding
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Football Association could soon see the much-needed funding from the global governing sports body return, after FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who visited Cayman Friday, said he had full confidence in the investigation into alleged financial crime at the local association. Last week Bruce Blake, who, despite his arrest, had been reinstated […]
Blake and Watson charged in CIFA case
(CNS) After what officials said was “a complex and protracted investigation” by the Anti-Corruption Commission, former Cayman Islands Football Association executives Bruce Blake and Canover Watson have been charged with a list of offences under various laws in relation to financial crimes at CIFA. The two men were arrested more than two years ago in […]
CIFA accounts reveal fraud allegations
(CNS): An audit of the Cayman Islands Football Association by Grant Thornton has revealed some details of the alleged fraud perpetrated against the local football body by former executives. In one of three audits of CIFA’s books, which the current president recently said would not be made public, former CIFA president Jeffrey Webb and his […]
Watson free but faces CIFA corruption probe
(CNS): Canover Watson, the former Health Services Authority Board chair who was convicted for corruption relating to a payment system at the hospital, has been released from jail after serving just over two years of his seven-year term. But despite his early release, Watson’s freedom may be in jeopardy, as CNS can confirm that Watson […]
Third arrest in year-long CIFA probe
(CNS): A 47-year-old man from George Town was arrested by investigators at the Anti-Corruption  Commission Monday on suspicion of committing several offences under Common Law, the Proceeds of Crime Law as well as the Anti-Corruption Law. The ACC said the arrest related to a corruption investigation in which two men were arrested almost 12 months ago. […]
