FOUR men have been arrested by North Yorkshire Police probing an application for lottery funding by one of the world’s fastest growing sports, Rock-It-Ball.
Police said the men had been arrested on suspicion of money laundering, in connection with an application for a grant to the National Lottery Awards For All scheme.
The Ryedale-based Rock-It-Ball Company has issued a statement strongly refuting all allegations of any wrong doing concerning Lottery grant funding, and said it had co-operated fully with the police.
The men arrested – a 50-year-old from York, a 57-year-old from Malton, a 67-year-old from Northallerton and a 52-year-old from Stockton-on-Tees, had all been released on bail pending further inquiries until next month.
A spokeswoman for Awards For All said: “We can confirm that we are continuing to liaise with the police in North Yorkshire in their ongoing investigation in relation to grants obtained from the Lottery Awards For All programme. We are unable to comment further at this stage."
The Rock-It-Ball Company, based at Marishes, near Malton, said: “The sport of Rock-It-Ball has had an amazing effect in the community, giving opportunities and responsibility to young people all over the country and this has always been our aim.
“We do not accept that we have done anything wrong and will defend ourselves as vigorously as possible against these totally unfounded allegations."
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