America’s Cup, New Zealand team did not cheat on public money

Financial investigation firm Beattle Varley, appointed by the Nezolean government to explain public funds management by Emirates Team New Zealand and America’s Cup Event, the executive arm of the Oakland America’s Cup organizing team (The Pre-Christmas Boat Race, the Prada Cup, Final Match), has set regularity This administration, excluding any premise of embezzlement, fraud, loans from Ace to TNZ and personal expenses paid with crown money. In short, there is no financial wrongdoing.

This news was so welcomed so naturally by the New Zealand team, who in recent weeks found themselves under fire in New Zealand, so much so that Grant Dalton, the team’s CEO, spoke of a real orchestrated attack. But he did not say who before.

Do you weave us?

New Zealand is far away, and its politics are more than that. So it is difficult to explain the political and background fallout from Italy – because there is, of course, everything political, and there have also been interventions by opposition forces to the government – to this story. It is also difficult to find out the details and behind the scenes of the New Zealand team “purges” that began in 2018, with some people leaving the group (the names were reported by the Kiwi media). On the one hand, the role of Grant Calder and Tom May, the two professionals who were hired by the team to run the Copa America event and then disqualified, accused of being “spies” (be sure to use the correct terminology: here, also bearing in mind the Watergate case, we’ll be using “deep throats”, Which, however, in English has an essentially sexual meaning; Anglo-Saxons might say “whistleblowers”) who “reported” to the government alleged irregularities in the management of public money through TNZ and Ace.

Are we interested in this story? Yes, even if it is marginal for the Copa America and therefore for its fans. I will explain why.

Forty million of the crown

Meanwhile, the big picture. There is the government allocating $ 40m for the America’s Cup, which in part – now the amount will be paid in full, even the amount that has been frozen pending the conclusion of the investigation – goes to ACE. There is the last company to pay $ 3 million to Team New Zealand, according to some loans, according to some an outstanding payment. Ace explains that calculated the work the New Zealand team has done in developing a new class of boats – the Ac75, the mono models we’ll see on the water – for $ 6.8 million and in contributing to the realization of the event. The costs the team should not bear, because, as Grant Dalton said, “It would be as if the first Blacks had paid for the costs of making the Rugby World Cup possible”. Hence, the $ 3 million (first tranche? Transfer: This is incomprehensible). However, at this point, there is still no agreement with the government, which believes that the development of the new boat should not fall within the costs attributed to the crown, so much so that the case – reads a note from the Emirates Airline New Zealand team – will be the subject of mediation.

There is also a strange side, because the New Zealand team claims that part of the amount was paid to a TV contractor in Europe on a Hungarian bank account and that it was hacked, in short, fraudulent (there was talk of 2.8 million scams). The International Police is investigating this point. I ignore allegations of personal expenditures attributed to Dalton that could have been covered with public money: Independent investigators appointed by the government determined that this was not true, that the crown money had not been used, and that was enough.

Are we interested then?

The Copa America could resume its course, which is already plagued by many problems, from the Covid issue (with the restrictions the crowd will be largely local, and the economic repercussions are likely to be listed) to the perception of the event (the danger is that the new boats, the new form is the copy An exact replica of the San Francisco version, stunning for the insiders, to some fans and ignored by the rest of the world), to the fewest competitors compared to the most optimistic forecast (not that there will be a waiting list, the gunner took this into account from the start) given the complexity of the boat class.

However, from this whole affair, nothing remains. And we care, yeah, we do too. The first consideration is that things aren’t quiet even down there at the vectors, which is a happy island’s fault. There are no happy islands in this world.

The second is that the New Zealand team is untouchable. The team is considered the pride of the country, along with the All Blacks rugby team, but it is not invincible and can be investigated on the spot. There are newspapers like New Zealand Herald, the main newspaper in the archipelago, which has already gone there head-down, to the point where the New Zealand team has pleaded with the court to order that newspaper not to publish its contents publicly. Some confidential documents (here we must discuss them, and also be aware that the Anglo-Saxons still have the rules and respect them when they are created by the toga).

Finally, this is until Grant Dalton in his country is not immune to prejudice. Despite being a sailing monument, he took the reins of a team after Peter Blake had gone “forty-eight cards,” the soul was under his feet and he didn’t know where to look to recover. Grant did so, and he made TNZ a winning team again. He might not be forgiven for returning Oracle to San Francisco, but then the America’s Cup brought her home from Bermuda. Now ready to stand up, she does everything to succeed, and perhaps leaves the scene as a winner (Luna Rossa might not have heard of it).