Derby County Football Club ex-chief executive Jeremy Keith, former finance director Andrew Mackenzie, and ex-director of football Murdo Mackay are accused of arranging a £15million loan from Panama-based ABC corporation for the club in 2003.

The loan helped the struggling club, which was in administration and more than £37million in debt after being relegated from the Premier League the year before.

A trial at Northampton Crown Court, which started yesterday, heard the men used the loan as a "carrot" to buy the club from administrators for just £3 in 2003.

The prosecution allege the trio paid themselves £125,000 each plus VAT - totalling £440,625 - as "secret commission" for arranging the deal.

Keith, 41, of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, Mackenzie, 55, of Burton Road, Derby, and Mackay, 53, of Fife, Scotland, all deny conspiring to defraud Derby County of £440,625.

The trio is also accused of conspiring to conceal criminal property - the £440,625 - along with Mark Waters, 48, of Bromley Kent, who worked as an accountant for the club's board.

Waters is accused of dishonest accounting, by arranging invoices to Derby County for his company Streamline Management Ltd, then paying the money to other companies set up in the men's names to hide where it was really going.

David Lowe, 58, of Boulevard des Moulins, Monaco, legal advisor during the takeover, is charged with helping to acquire or conceal £81,895.

The money is alleged to have been paid to Mackenzie to help him buy a house in Florida as part of his payment, but was disguised by the pair as a loan from Lowe. The men deny all the charges.

In the second day of the trial opening today, prosecutor Richard Sutton QC told the court Keith denied he received any payment on a Derby radio station's sports show.

Mr Sutton said when asked live on air in December 2005 whether anyone in the club had benefited from cash from the takeover deal, Keith said: "Not that I am aware of."

The court heard he told the presenter people were accusing the board of stripping Derby County of its assets and leaving it on the "trash heap" but insisted the only thing they had sold were two players.

Mackenzie also appeared on the programme and denied having anything to do with the takeover. He told the show the consortium that took over the club involved Keith, chairman John Sleightholme and Mackay, the jury heard.

Mr Sutton told the court: "Either Mr Keith and Mr Mackenzie were prevaricating or telling downright lies.

"The Crown suggests if that is the case you may want to know what the reason is for lying or prevaricating."

The court heard despite his comments on the show in 2005, Keith told police in interviews in 2006 that he made it clear he received a fee.

Mr Sutton said: "He stated that he had made it clear to everyone that he was going to get a fee, although he couldn't remember whether there was anything in writing."

Keith also claimed to police he had been advised the money should be paid through Streamline because an arrangement was already in place.

Mackenzie, however, denied to officers that the Streamline fee would then be shared between himself, Keith and Mackay.

Mr Sutton said Mackay told police the invoice for the money had been paid through Streamline because "they" did not want the public to know.

Waters also said the reason the money was paid through Streamline instead of direct to the men was because they wanted to "keep it out of the public view".

Summing up his opening, Mr Sutton told the court Keith was one of the "major architects" of the scheme along with Mackay and Mackenzie.

He said: "That was the scheme to take over their club and at the same time to take a secret cut that otherwise he would not have got."

He said the men knew the invoice from Streamline to Derby County was false and that the company had not carried out the work it was charging for.

"The prosecution suggest the concealment and subterfuge was determined and intentional," he added.

"The only way they could achieve what they wanted to achieve was to deceive and defraud and that is what the Crown are alleging."