Football manager Harry Redknapp told detectives investigating him for alleged tax evasion that he would "rather give you a hundred grand than nick a few quid off you".
Redknapp and his co-accused, former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric, listened intently from the dock as transcripts were read to the jury at Southwark Crown Court.
The 64-year-old Tottenham Hotspur boss was interviewed under caution by City of London detectives in June 2009.
He told police: "To try and nick a few quid off the income tax... Why? I am not into that.
"I would rather give you a hundred grand than nick a few quid off you."
Redknapp revealed to the officers that he was earning between £35-40,000 per week at the time and added: "As if I'm going to put myself in trouble."
He continued: "We are givers, not takers."
Redknapp is alleged to have set up an HSBC offshore bank account in Monaco, named after his bulldog Rosie , and received bungs of £189,000.
Redknapp told police his home was at risk after he lost millions of pounds in disastrous investments, the court heard.
In transcripts read out in court, Redknapp said he lost £6m in a property venture in Southsea, Hampshire, and had squandered £250,000 to help friend Jim Smith keep his managerial job at Oxford United FC .
He urged detectives to ask his solicitor if he had "ever come across anyone as bad, businesswise".
The Spurs boss - tipped as a future England manager - also said he had paid £1m in tax in 2008.
Both Redknapp and Mandaric , 73, deny charges of cheating the public revenue during their time together at Portsmouth FC.
Jurors were sent home to return on Monday, when they will hear final prosecution submissions before Mandaric's barrister Lord Ken Macdonald QC opens the defence.
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