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Watford have been found guilty of providing forged financial documents
Hornets Stung

Watford found guilty over supplying falsified financial documents and fined £4m by the EFL

Hornets submitted forged paperwork 'from HSBC' in 2014 which claimed Gino Pozzo had enough money to take full control

WATFORD have reportedly been fined £4million after they were found guilty of supplying falsified financial documents.

It was claimed back in October 2016 that the Hornets submitted a forged banking letter when Gino Pozzo became their sole owner.

 Watford have been found guilty of providing forged financial documents
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Watford have been found guilty of providing forged financial documentsCredit: PA:Press Association
 The Hornets have been fined £4m by the EFL as punishment
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The Hornets have been fined £4m by the EFL as punishmentCredit: PA:Press Association

The filing was used as proof to show the Italian had enough funds to take full control at Watford and was fabricated to make it look like it was written by HSBC shortly before the 2014/15 season when the Hornets won promotion to the Premier League.

The Telegraph now claims that Watford have now been forced to cough up £4m as punishment after they passed on the document to both HSCB and the police late last year.

The fine is the largest ever in EFL history and was decided by a disciplinary commission.

It was set to be as much as £5.75m originally, but Watford were given a cut after cooperating in full with the investigation.

Former CEO Raffaele Riva will receive a separate punishment from the EFL, with Pozzo deemed to have not known about the forgery.

Riva resigned soon after the accusations came to light and claimed he did not know he was working with a forged letter.

 The documents allowed Gino Pozzo to take full control of the club
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The documents allowed Gino Pozzo to take full control of the clubCredit: Getty
 Watford had part of the fine reduced for giving their full cooperation
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Watford had part of the fine reduced for giving their full cooperationCredit: Reuters

He said: “For two years, I had no reason to believe the letter was anything but genuine.

“Indeed, since the letter was submitted to the EFL, Hornets Investment Limited have put into the club over three times the amount specified in the proof of funds letter.

“It has come as a huge shock to be notified there are doubts over the veracity of the letter.”



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