CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Empire of Selfridges tycoon faces fraud complaint

Hannah Boland
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Signa Development, part of Rene Benko’s property empire, filed for insolvency in late December - Georg Hochmuth/AFP

The property empire of Selfridges tycoon Rene Benko is facing a criminal fraud complaint as creditors push for an investigation into alleged “unlawful transactions”.

Lenders to Signa have filed a criminal complaint with Austrian anti-fraud prosecutors, raising concerns over “a considerable outflow of assets of more than €662m (£567m)” from one of its holding companies to shareholders and sister companies in the run-up to its collapse.

Signa Development – part of the Benko property empire, which is an investor in Selfridges alongside Thai company Central Group – filed for insolvency in late December. It was said to be one of the most cash generative units of the Signa empire.


According to the Financial Times, the lenders claimed there was a “presumably deliberate” lack of transparency before Signa Development declared it was bust.

In the claim, they said: “It is suspected that the asset transactions described were carried out in wilful violation of the mandatory capital maintenance regulations [of the company] and to the detriment of Signa Development and its creditors.”

A spokesman for Austria’s State Prosecutor for Economic Crime and Corruption declined to comment on any specific complaints. Signa did not respond to requests for comment.

It is the latest twist in the collapse of one of the world’s largest property empires, which had counted many major banks and wealth funds among its lenders. At the time it failed, Signa owed European banks almost £7bn. The company was pushed to the brink by high interest rates and plummeting valuations.

It is currently going through a self-administration process whereby it is racing to raise cash and last month auctioned off doormats and coat hangers. The Signa business is understood to be hugely complex and involves around 1,000 different entities.

Alongside Selfridges, Mr Benko’s empire included half of New York’s Chrysler building and the historic five-star Bauer Hotel on Venice’s Grand Canal. It bought the British luxury department store for £4bn in 2022 together with Central Group.

Late last year, Central opted to convert a loan in the trading company of Selfridges to become the majority shareholder in the group.

Computer scientist claims ‘Spy in the bag’ helped to create Bitcoin, court hears

James Titcomb
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Australian computer scientist Craig Wright arriving at the High Court in London on Monday - Hannah McKay/Reuters

An MI6 officer found dead in a holdall bag in his London flat 14 years ago was instrumental in the creation of Bitcoin, according to a man who claims to be its inventor.

The High Court heard on Monday that Craig Wright, an Australian programmer, allegedly named Gareth Williams as a key player in Bitcoin’s creation during separate proceedings in the US.

The allegation was made amid a bitter legal battle between Mr Wright and the Crypto Open Patent Alliance (COPA), an industry group funded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.


The broader dispute revolves around whether Mr Wright is Bitcoin’s inventor.

COPA alleges that Mr Wright’s claims about Mr Williams being one of three “key people” behind Bitcoin is a pattern of him having “implausible dealings with people who have died”.

It is alleged that Mr Wright also claimed to have known Dave Kleiman, a forensics expert who died in 2013, and David Rees, a British computer scientist who helped decode Nazi communications at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.

COPA argues that Mr Wright claimed to have spoken to Mr Williams in 2011 – a year after he had died.

Mr Williams was a codebreaker on secondment from GCHQ when he was discovered inside a zipped and padlocked bag in his central London flat 14 years ago.

At the opening of the five-week trial on Monday, Jonathan Hough KC, representing COPA, called Mr Wright’s claim “a brazen lie and elaborate false narrative supported by forgery on an industrial scale”.

Mr Wright, who appeared in court wearing a grey double-breasted pinstripe suit, has denied that he is a liar. His own legal argument did not mention Mr Williams.

COPA claims that Mr Wright has failed to provide genuine proof of his claims and that his evidence consists of doctored documents.

Mr Wright’s barrister Lord Grabiner KC said Mr Wright had “spent many years devoted to studying and working on concepts underpinning Bitcoin” adding that there was “clear evidence” that he had created Bitcoin.

Mr Wright is expected to begin giving evidence on Tuesday.

Migrant centre riot leads to 14 arrests in Italy


Our Foreign Staff
Mon, 5 February 2024 

A riot at a migrant detention centre near Rome, which broke out after the suicide of a young man being held there, has resulted in the arrest of 14 people.

Two police officers and a soldier were injured in the disturbance on Sunday when detainees set fire to mattresses, threw other objects, and forced their way out into a car park, Italian police said in a statement.

Officers fired tear gas as they struggled to regain control of the Ponte Galeria facility, a holding centre for undocumented migrants, which is close to the city’s main airport at Fiumicino.

The trouble began after the discovery of the body of a 21-year-old man from Guinea who had taken his own life.

The Ponte Galeria detention centre near Rome is being used to house undocumented migrants - REUTERS

Italy’s Coalition for Freedom and Civil Rights (CILD) said migrants held in such centres were being denied access to proper healthcare and legal defence.

Police unions complained that security was inadequate and they feared more serious consequences in the future.

“The repatriation centres are real time bombs,” said Fabio Conesta, secretary general of the Mosap police officers’ union.

Dealing with migration is a major challenge for Giorgia Meloni’s government, which pledged a new partnership with Africa at a summit last week.

Some 157,600 migrants reached Italy last year by boat, the largest number since 2016, undermining Ms Meloni’s electoral pledge to halt the flow of unauthorised arrivals.

Farmers block Dutch-Belgian border in anti-EU protest

PETTY BOURGEOIS REVANCHISTS

James Crisp
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Dutch farmers block the border between the Netherlands and Belgium in both directions

Angry farmers teamed up on Monday to block the Belgian-Dutch border, as demonstration leaders vowed to disrupt this year’s European elections in an escalation of anti-EU protests spreading across the continent.

Traffic between the Belgian city of Liege and Maastricht in the Netherlands was brought to a standstill in both directions as dozens of tractors from the two countries descended on the main highways across the frontier.

Europe’s farmers are revolting against EU net zero policies, high costs, cheap imports – including from Ukraine – and low prices for their produce.

Their protest movement has spread across the continent, with promises of disruptive demonstrations in the lead-up to the European Parliamentary elections in June.

Belgian police estimated that more than 1,300 tractors blocked central Brussels last Thursday as European Union leaders met in the Belgian capital for crunch talks over an aid package for Ukraine.

The farmers have since tried to block borders and supermarket distribution centres in a bid to have their discontent heard.

Melanie Broers, a Belgian farmer, told the RTBF broadcaster on Monday: “Farmers are still angry.”

He added: “We have been demonstrating in Belgium for more than a week… There are no concrete measures taken by the Belgian government.”

The protest at the Belgian-Dutch frontier ended in the afternoon, with police still warning people to avoid the area because of the congestion.

Denny Hegel, a farmer from Teuven, told Le Vif magazine: “We still have to milk the cows. In addition, we do not want to make people suffer unnecessarily, because at rush hour, we will have left again.”

Meanwhile, supermarkets have warned it could take them days before their shelves are fully stocked again after the protests started to hit their supplies.

Aldi said in a statement: “The actions have had a major impact on the supply.”

Roel Dekelver, a spokesman for the Delhaize supermarket chain, added: “We hope that the entire range will be normalised again by Wednesday.”

Fresh fruit and vegetables have been hit the hardest, with Colruyt, a supermarket chain, warning it could take two weeks for “stores to be replenished 100 per cent”.

Italian farmers head to Rome to protest against EU ‘betrayal’ - Reuters

Meanwhile, a convoy of 250 tractors left Tuscany, the scene of earlier demonstrations, on Monday morning. It was expected to arrive on the Via Cassia, a main road leading into the Italian capital, later in the day.

The farmers are expected to congregate on the outskirts of Rome pending further protests later in the week in scenes reminiscent of similar protests that have paralysed cities across Europe.

Danilo Calvani, one of the protest leaders, said: “We will encircle Rome and not just for one day.”

Mr Calvani added that “the mobilisation will begin from Thursday”.

He was speaking after meeting police chiefs in Rome to thrash out details of where and when the protest will be held.

Giorgia Meloni, the prime minister, claimed on Monday that her Right-wing coalition had done “everything possible” to help farmers since coming to power a year and a half ago.

The farmers have demanded a platform at this week’s Sanremo Song Festival, a popular Eurovision-style contest which attracts millions of viewers in Italy.

Mr Calvini was one of the leaders of the Forconi, or the Pitchforks, a populist, anti-establishment movement that sprang up in Italy a decade ago before fizzling out.

At its height in 2003, the movement staged angry protests against politicians, the euro, the EU, austerity policies and high taxes. He now leads an organisation called “Betrayed Farmers”.

Mr Calvini said: “We’ve been betrayed by our MPs, by our political class. They have failed to defend us.”

Farmers protest in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Italy 

- CESARE ABBATE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Blame lies equally with successive Italian governments and the EU, he said.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, Bart Dickens, a dairy farmer and president of the Farmers Defence Force, told The Telegraph: “On June 4, there is going to be a huge, huge protest here in Belgium, from all countries, before the elections of the European Parliament.”

He added: “Europe is trying to kill us. Enough is enough, where is this going to stop? I don’t know. We are done with it.”

Emil Macho, the chairman of Slovakia’s Chamber of Agriculture and Food, last week told the country’s national council Slovak farmers were willing to join other European farmers in revolt against the bloc’s target of net zero by 2050.

“Farmers protesting, burning tyres, pouring manure on administrative centres in half of the EU countries – that is just a consequence of what is often caused by green fanaticism in the EU,” he said.

Israeli settler violence 'must stop': French FM

AFP
Mon, 5 February 2024 

France's Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne is making his first visit to the region since taking office in January, as part of a shakeup by the Macron administration (GIL COHEN-MAGEN)

French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said Monday that Israeli "settler violence must stop" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Under no circumstances can there be forced displacement of Palestinians, neither out of Gaza nor out of the West Bank," Sejourne said during a Middle East tour aimed at securing a truce between Israel and militant group Hamas in Gaza.

The French minister denounced anti-Palestinian rhetoric and "even calls to commit war crimes" by Israeli officials, after some Netanyahu allies have appeared to endorse Jewish re-settlement of the Gaza Strip after the war.


Sejourne called for supporting the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority of president Mahmud Abbas.

"The future of the Gaza Strip is inseparable from the future of the West Bank, we must prepare for this future by supporting the Palestinian Authority," Sejourne said.

"It must renew itself and redeploy as soon as possible in the Gaza Strip," where Hamas seized power in 2007, he added.

"I repeat: Gaza is Palestinian land," the top French diplomat said on his first tour of the region since taking office in January.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas in 2007 ousted Gaza forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank.

Israel in 2005 withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza, but in the West Bank there are around 490,000 Israelis living among approximately three million Palestinians in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

Since the October 7 attack triggered war between Israel and Hamas, at least 381 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.

Israeli rights group Yesh Din dubbed 2023 the "most violent" year on record for settler attacks.

Sejourne called for "a comprehensive political solution, with two states living in peace side by side", urging the resumption of the peace process "without delay".

Israel and the Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks in more than a decade.

"Without a political solution, there will be no just and lasting peace in the Middle East," Sejourne said.

Later on Monday, Sejourne met his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki as well as Abbas in Ramallah.

"I reiterated... the (French) demand of a durable ceasefire (in Gaza) for humanitarian reasons," Sejourne said after the meetings, adding that "the questions of the hostages" still held in Gaza, among them three French nationals, remained "a priority for diplomatic action" by France.

blb-dla/ibz/jd/yad/des

UK

Rishi Sunak suggests Sir Keir Starmer is a ‘terrorist sympathiser’

SLANDER, DEFAMATION

Daniel Martin
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Rishi Sunak says he will let the facts speak for themselves over Labour leader being 'on side' of Islamist group - Piers Morgan Uncensored/TalkTV

Rishi Sunak has said Sir Keir Starmer was “on the side” of a major Islamist group and suggested he was a “terrorist sympathiser”.

Asked whether he thought the Labour leader was a terrorist sympathiser, the Prime Minister said: “I would say let the facts speak for themselves.”

The Labour leader represented the extremist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir in court during his legal career before he became an MP.


In a Talk Radio interview with Piers Morgan, Mr Sunak said his government had been “very clear” that the group should be banned in the UK.

“Again the question for Keir Starmer: he once upon a time represented Hizb ut-Tahrir,” he said.

“Actually he supported them in resisting proscription elsewhere. And that is who he was on the side of. We are trying to ban these people and he was busy trying to represent them…”

Mr Morgan then asked: “Do you think he is a terrorist sympathiser?”

Mr Sunak responded: “Well I would say let the facts speak for themselves, right?

“He was their lawyer when they were trying to resist this. We have just proscribed them because we think that is what they are. And these things speak to people’s values, right?”

NHS ban an option

He later went on to argue that leaders of Hizb ut-Tahrir should not be able to work for the NHS as a doctor.

“From this moment on – remember these things are forward-looking – but there are clearly questions to answer which the NHS are rightly looking at,” he said.

“It’s obviously not right for me to comment on individual people, but let me just be clear, forget about working in a particular place, it is illegal for a proscribed terrorist organisation, for someone to be glorifying that organisation and what they do, is already illegal under our law.

“And the same with these protests, when you see people glorifying what Hamas have done: that is against the law, right? That is not in accordance with the values of our country and those people should be accountable for that.”

A spokesman for Sir Keir said: “Keir oversaw the first-ever prosecution of senior members of al-Qaeda, the jailing of the airline liquid bomb plotters and the deportation of countless terrorists. The Prime Minister can only dream of having such a record of serving his country.”

Mr Sunak has previously attacked Sir Keir for advising Hizb-ut Tahrir, saying: “I ban them, he invoices them.”

UN chief names independent panel to assess UNRWA agency in Gaza


AFP
Mon, 5 February 2024 

An Israeli border guard stands by during a protest by Israeli right-wing activists (not in frame) outside the West Bank field office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jerusalem (AHMAD GHARABLI)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres announced Monday the creation of an independent panel to assess UNRWA, its embattled agency tasked with helping Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA is under fire over accusations by Israel that 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

More than a dozen countries, including the United States, Germany, Britain and Sweden, have suspended funding to the agency.


The new independent panel will be led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, who will work with three European research organizations, the UN said in a statement.

The goal of the probe is to "assess whether the agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made."

The panel is due to submit an interim report to Guterres, the UN secretary-general, in late March, and then a final one in late April, with, if necessary, recommendations for "improvement and strengthening" of the agency's mechanisms.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz congratulated the UN for forming this panel.

"We will submit all evidence highlighting @UNRWA's ties to terrorism and its harmful effects on regional stability," Katz wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"It is imperative that this committee brings the truth to light," he added.

However, this new panel is not charged with probing the specific allegations Israel has made against the UNRWA employees it says were involved in the Hamas attack.

Rather, this is being done in an internal probe that the United Nations itself launched last month after the accusations were first made against them.

"We hope that donors have taken clear notice of the swift action taken by the secretary general... to address head on issues that may exist," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The October 7 attack by Hamas resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the UN agency had been "totally infiltrated" by the group, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.

Vowing to eliminate Hamas, Israel launched a massive military offensive that has killed at least 27,478 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.

The European groups helping in this independent assessment of UNRWA are the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

UNRWA stands for United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

abd/dw/bfm

Bristol University professor sacked for anti-Zionist views wins discrimination case

Louisa Clarence-Smith
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Prof David Miller was employed by the university in 2018, and then dismissed in 2021 - PA 

A Bristol University professor sacked for his anti-Zionist views was unfairly dismissed, a tribunal has found.

Professor David Miller successfully claimed discrimination based on his philosophical belief that Zionism is inherently racist, imperialist and colonial.

Lawyers representing Prof Miller said the judgment established for the first time that anti-Zionist beliefs are protected in the workplace.

Prof Miller was employed by the University of Bristol as a professor of political sociology in 2018, until he was dismissed in 2021.

He sparked anger among Jewish students in 2019 when a slideshow for one of his lectures described parts of the “Zionist movement” as one of the “five pillars” of Islamophobia.
A philosophical belief

The professor claimed that he was subject to an organised campaign by groups and individuals opposed to his anti-Zionist views, which was aimed at getting him sacked.

He also alleged that the university failed to support him and unfairly dismissed him.

In a judgment handed down on Monday by Judge Rohan Pirani, the Bristol employment tribunal ruled that the professor’s anti-Zionist beliefs qualified as a philosophical belief and as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.

It found that he was subject to direct discrimination because of his anti-Zionist belief in relation to the university’s decision to sack him.

However, it dismissed further claims of indirect and direct discrimination.

Zillur Rahman, partner at law firm Rahman Lowe, who represented Prof Miller, said: “This is a landmark case and marks a pivotal moment in the history of our country for those who believe in upholding the rights of Palestinians.”

Prof Miller said: “I am extremely pleased that the tribunal has concluded that I was unfairly and wrongfully dismissed by the University of Bristol. I am also very proud that we have managed to establish that anti-Zionist views qualify as a protected belief under the UK Equality Act.

“This was the most important reason for taking the case and I hope it will become a touchstone precedent in all the future battles that we face with the racist and genocidal ideology of Zionism and the movement to which it is attached.”
‘Disappointment’ with ruling

Responding to the judgment, the Union of Jewish Students said it was “disappointed” by the decision which could set a “dangerous precedent” about what can be said on campus about Jewish students and societies.

Bristol University said it was “disappointed” with the ruling and was reviewing the tribunal’s findings.

A spokesperson said: “After a full investigation and careful deliberation, the University concluded that Dr Miller did not meet the standards of behaviour we expect from our staff in relation to comments he made in February 2021 about students and student societies linked to the University.

“As a result and considering our responsibilities to our students and the wider University community, his employment was terminated.

“We recognise that these matters have caused deep concern for many, and that members of our community hold very different views from one another. We would, therefore, encourage everyone to respond in a responsible and sensitive way in the current climate.

“The University of Bristol remains committed to fostering a positive working and learning environment that enriches lives and where the essential principles of academic freedom are preserved.”

UK

Electric van maker once valued at £10bn collapses into administration


James Titcomb
Mon, 5 February 2024 

Arrival previously signed agreements to supply numerous companies with vehicles but ultimately failed to sell any finished models

A British electric van maker once valued at $13bn (£10bn) has gone into administration after burning through $1.5bn without having sold a vehicle.

Oxfordshire-based Arrival has appointed administrators at EY to find a buyer for the business, blaming “challenging market and macroeconomic conditions”.

Arrival’s Nasdaq flotation in 2021 was the biggest ever for a British company but shares have fallen by 99.98pc as it became clear that the company was unable to service its debts.

“The group’s liquidity position has been impacted by challenging market and macroeconomic conditions resulting in delays in getting the group’s products to market,” the administrators said.

“As such, the Joint Administrators are now exploring options for the sale of the business and assets of the Companies, including its electric vehicle platforms, software, intellectual property and R&D assets, for the benefit of creditors.”

Last week, Arrival said it would be delisted from the Nasdaq after failing to release financial updates or hold an annual meeting. The company has defaulted on its debts despite seeking to cut costs with repeated job losses.

Arrival secured hundreds of millions of investment from the likes of BlackRock, BNP Paribas and Hyundai before going public. Denis Sverdlov, a Russian businessman who founded the company, stepped down as chief executive in 2022.

Denis Sverdlov stepped down as Arrival chief executive less than two years after having taken the company pubilc

The company had been seeking a potential sale or investment but EY were appointed administrators of its two UK entities, which own its key assets, on Monday.

Arrival had planned to make electric vans and buses at small, robot-led “microfactories” that would be cheaper to set up than traditional car plants.

It had signed agreements with the delivery giant UPS to deliver as many as 10,000 vehicles as well as a deal with Uber to produce cars purpose-built for taxi apps.

The company last year switched its plans to manufacturing in America in an attempt to benefit from Biden administration subsidies, although production never began.

The company had more than $300m in debt as of last June.

A series of other electric vehicle companies that pursued high-stakes US listings during a market boom in 2020 and 2021, such as Lordstown Motors and Nikola, have also struggled.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Ex-NFL quarterback Favre must finish repaying misspent welfare money, Mississippi auditor says

EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Mon, February 5, 2024 

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre speaks with reporters prior to his induction to the Mississippi Hall of Fame in Jackson, Miss., Aug. 1, 2015. Mississippi's state auditor filed court papers Monday, Feb. 5, 2024, renewing his call for Favre to repay the state for welfare money that the auditor says was improperly spent on projects backed by the retired NFL quarterback. 

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)More


JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi's state auditor filed court papers Monday renewing his call for Brett Favre to repay the state for welfare money that the auditor says was improperly spent on projects backed by the retired NFL quarterback.

Auditor Shad White's demand of nearly $730,000 from Favre is the latest twist in a long-running legal battle over money that was supposed to help some of the poorest people in one of the poorest states in the nation.

Favre, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member who lives in Mississippi, filed lawsuits in February 2023 accusing White and two national sportscasters of defaming him in public discussions about welfare misspending.

White said in 2020 that Favre had improperly received $1.1 million in speaking fees from a nonprofit organization that spent welfare with approval from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The money from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program was to go toward a volleyball arena at the University of Southern Mississippi. Favre agreed to lead fundraising efforts for the facility at his alma mater, where his daughter started playing on the volleyball team in 2017.

“Favre had no legal right to the possession or control of this $1.1 Million,” White's attorneys wrote in the court filing Monday.

Favre repaid $500,000 to the state in May 2020 and $600,000 in October 2021, but the new court filing said he still owes $729,790 because interest caused growth in the original amount he owed.

“It boggles the mind that Mr. Favre could imagine he is entitled to the equivalent of an interest-free loan of $1.1 million in taxpayer money, especially money intended for the benefit of the poor," White said in a statement Monday.

The Associated Press left voicemail messages for two of Favre's attorneys Monday, and they did not immediately respond.

In October, a federal judge dismissed Favre's defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe, a former NFL player who's now a broadcaster. In May, Favre ended his lawsuit against sportscaster Pat McAfee, who is a former NFL punter, after McAfee apologized for on-air statements that Favre had been “stealing from poor people in Mississippi.”

Favre's defamation lawsuit against White is still pending, and White's filing Monday was a counterclaim in that suit.

Mississippi prosecutors have said millions of federal welfare dollars for low-income residents were squandered on projects supported by wealthy or well-connected people from 2016 to 2019.

A lawsuit filed by the Department of Human Services in 2022 said TANF money was improperly spent, including on projects Favre supported: $5 million for the volleyball arena and $1.7 million toward development of a concussion treatment drug.

No criminal charges have been brought against Favre, although a former department director and other people have pleaded guilty to their part in the misspending.

MS Auditor Shad White counter-sues Brett Favre. See why

Grant McLaughlin, Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Mon, February 5, 2024 

State Auditor Shad White has filed a countersuit against former NFL quarterback Brett Favre to repay interest and principal money from $1.1 million he previously received in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds.

Favre had sued White last February for defamation.

White was previously represented in that case, filed with the Hinds County Circuit Court last year, by Attorney General Lynn Fitch, but she dropped White as a client after she became aware that a book White was writing would contain information that called her office’s authority into question.

“Mississippi’s Constitution and laws require that the State Auditor act to protect the taxpayers and fully collect all public funds which Mr. Favre received from Nancy New and John Davis. Mr. Favre’s meritless defamation suit provides the opportunity for the recovery of the principal and interest which Mr. Favre failed to repay,” White said Monday in a press release.

More on Fitch dropping White MS Attorney General Lynn Fitch no longer representing Shad White in Brett Favre suit

Shad White's 2024 agenda: White eyes education as part of his 2024 agenda

Shad White announced a lawsuit against former NFL star Brett Favre on Monday.

The counter claim that was filed Monday asks the court to require Favre to repay $729,790 in principal and interest he could owe on $1.1 million in welfare funds.

According to White in the press release, his office discovered “illegal” transfers to Favre during an earlier investigation and demanded Favre repay the amount in 2021. Favre admitted fault but failed to pay the entire amount due.

Favre, a former Southern Miss and star NFL football player, filed a lawsuit in February of 2023 for comments made on social media by White regarding Favre’s character and the state’s civil case against him.

In 2023, the state also named Favre as one of 38 defendants in a civil case filed by the Mississippi Department of Human Service aiming to reclaim about $77 million in misspent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds, $5 million of which paid for a new volleyball stadium at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Two other defendants in the case, Nancy and Zachary New, pled guilty in 2022 on several charges, including bribing a public official, fraud against the government and wire fraud, among others.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.

Two other defendants in the case, Nancy and Zachary New, pled guilty in 2022 on several charges, including bribing a public official, fraud against the government and wire fraud, among others.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Shad White sues Brett Favre related to Mississippi welfare scandal