A world arrest warrant has been issued for Australian ex-rugby star Rocky Elsom following a conviction for embezzlement in France, French media say.
The previous captain of Australia’s nationwide crew was president of RC Narbonne, certainly one of France’s most prestigious golf equipment, in 2015-16. On Friday a court docket discovered him responsible of paying tens of hundreds of euros to former membership officers for little or no service.
Elsom was convicted in absentia and given a five-year-prison sentence, in line with French media.
He lately instructed the Sunday Occasions newspaper that he was residing within the Irish capital Dublin.
Within the interview with the outlet, revealed on 6 October, Elsom mentioned he was teaching on the Catholic College Faculty, a personal college for boys in Dublin. He mentioned deliberate to stay within the metropolis till December.
A sporting movie star in Eire, 41-year-old, performed for Leinster Rugby within the late 2000s and helped the crew win the Heineken Cup, Europe’s prime membership rugby match, in 2009.
He additionally appeared 75 occasions for Australia’s nationwide crew – nicknamed the Wallabies – between 2005 and 2011. After his retirement he was a part of a consortium that purchased RC Narbonne
The French court docket convicted Elsom of abusing company property and forging paperwork throughout his time as president of the membership, native media stories say.
A lawyer concerned within the case, Patrick Tabet, is quoted by Ouest-France newspaper as saying that Elsom made a “utterly unjustified” cost of €79,000 (£66,000) to a former coach and gave a month-to-month wage of €7,200 to an Australian resident who “by no means got here to Narbonne”.
The membership was positioned into administration and relegated to decrease leagues in 2018.
The choose handed down a harsher jail time period than the 2 years requested by prosecutors. Mr Tabet mentioned the previous Wallabies star was additionally ordered to pay again some €705,000 (£586,000).