Former chairman Jeremy Peace has to wait as investigation is extended
The investigation into an historic loan taken against Albion by former chairman Jeremy Peace will not be completed until Easter.
An independent probe into the 2014 loan was launched at the start of the year and originally expected to report its findings within six months.
But after that deadline was put back until the end of 2023, the minority shareholders who lobbied for the investigation were this week told it is now not expected to be finished until around Easter next year.
Peace borrowed £3.7million from the club and placed it in his own company, WBA Holdings. The debt was inherited by Guochuan Lai following his £200million takeover in 2016 and is now thought to total around £5m, including interest. It has never been repaid.
The club’s minority shareholders, Shareholders for Albion (S4A) have claimed Peace may have used the loan to WBA Holding to assist in purchasing increased shares in WBA Group, the club’s parent company.
Peace has always denied this and claimed the loan was “competitively advantageous” to the club. Speaking to The Times last year, he said he would welcome any investigation.
