Christopher Ronnie (born 1961/62) is a British businessman and convicted fraudster,

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

JJB Sports JJB Sports plc was a British sports retailer. On 24 September 2012, shares in JJB Sports were suspended, and the firm called in administrators. On 1 October 2012, it was announced that Sports Direct had purchased part of the business, includ ...

from June 2007 to March 2009, when he was fired for failing to disclose the sale of his stake in the company within the required four days. In February 2009, Ronnie's lawyers said that he "has always maintained that he has not knowingly breached any disclosure obligations in relation to his shareholding" and stated Ronnie had "tendered a letter of resignation conditional upon reaching an agreement on the terms of a settlement." JJB rejected this resignation as no agreement had been met. Ronnie had previously worked for

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...

Sports Direct International Frasers Group plc (formerly known as Sports Direct International plc) is a British retail, sport and intellectual property group, named after its ownership of the department store chain House of Fraser. The company is best known for trading pr ...

Pentland Group Pentland Group is a British privately held global company that owns and invests in, primarily, retail and wholesale businesses in the sports, outdoor and sports fashion sectors. The Group is the majority shareholder of JD Sports, which operat ...

and Blane Leisure Limited. In October 2010 Ronnie held discussions with DW Sports about purchasing the retail business from Dave Whelan's company. However, DW decided not to sell the business and issued a statement to that effect.

2014 fraud conviction

Ronnie appeared at

Westminster Magistrates' Court Westminster Magistrates' Court is a Magistrates' court (England and Wales), magistrates' court at 181 Marylebone Road, London. The Chief Magistrate of England and Wales, who is the Senior Judiciary of England and Wales#District judges, Distric ...

in London on Wednesday 4 April 2012 charged with

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

, theft and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

. He appeared alongside a clothing manufacturer who was a key supplier to the sports retailer during Ronnie's tenure as chief executive of JJB between August 2007 and March 2009. The two arrests were the culmination of a three-year investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, which said investigations into possible offences committed by other suspects were ongoing. On 20 November 2014, Ronnie was convicted of three counts of fraud and two of furnishing false information. He was sentenced in December 2014 to four and a half years in jail, and banned indefinitely from acting as a company director.

References

1960s births Living people 20th-century English criminals British people convicted of fraud English chief executives English prisoners and detainees Place of birth missing (living people) Prisoners and detainees of England and Wales Year of birth missing (living people) {{UK-business-bio-1960s-stub