Richard Rufus has been ordered by the Charity Commission to pay back £6.9m to the Kingsway International Christian Centre. The money was lost after he invested in high risk foreign exchange trades. Rufus has already paid back £1.7m, but was declared bankrupt last year and the Charity Commission stated that it was 'clear the funds would not be fully refunded.'
The Times headlines its report 'Footballer's investment own goals' and claims that Rufus was 'renowned for scoring own goals.' Scoring own goals is a professional hazard for central defenders and I don't think he scored that many. This comment strikes me as gratuitously unpleasant and if I wasn't so busy I would complain to The Times. The goal I remember is the first goal he scored for us, that vital one in the greatest game.
My wife was his shirt sponsor for many years and I have one of his signed shirts framed and hanging in my basement. Another was given to the Rose of Denmark. It was evident from my wife's conversations with Rufus that his faith meant a great deal to him and I am sure that he is upset to have let his church down. It was actually quite an awkward topic for my wife as she is not religious, but he came across as a very nice guy.
The full statement by the Charity Commission can be found here: Rufus
2 comments:
Richard was a fabulous footballer. I cannot comment about his recent financial problems but I will always consider him the best central defender to wear a Charlton shirt.
A very sad state of affairs indeed.
Being a relatively new Addick, Richard Rufus is way, way before my time, but from the way in which many Addicks speak of him, it's clear that "highly regarded" is an understatement.
Charity finances are a difficult area, and Church finances even more so.
It sounds as if Rufus had every intention of trying to generate a good income for his church, but it all went wrong - the Charities Commission are calling the investments "risky", but the biggest risk sounds like no independent financial advice was taken.
A tough situation all round - for Richard Rufus, the trustees of KICC present and past, and the church itself. My prayers go out to them and I hope things work out for Richard Rufus in particular.
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