pete 2,499 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I’ve no regrets over Rangers crisis insists SFA chief Stewart Regan The national body’s CEO says he wouldn’t change a thing about the way his organisation handled Rangers’ financial collapse. ByGavin McCafferty Press Association 17:27, 6 JUN 2017 SFA chief executive Stewart Regan insists he has no regrets over the way the financial collapse of Rangers was dealt with after Craig Whyte was acquitted of fraud. Regan declined to express any reaction to the jury's decision following a six-week trial at the High Court in Glasgow. The court heard Whyte bought Rangers for £1 in May 2011 and then agreed a £24million capital injection into the club from Ticketus, to be repaid from future season-ticket sales, in order to pay off the club's bank debt and tackle other obligations of the deal. Promoted Stories You'll be speaking a new language in 3 weeks thanks to this app made in GermanyBabbel Flight Prices You're Not Allowed to SeeSave70.com Megahype: This invention storm the internet...ECOCUT pro Strandurlaub am besten Strand in Dubai buchenBeach-Inspector.com Whyte was found to be not fit and proper to run a football club but only after Rangers went into administration over an unpaid tax bill, which ultimately consigned them to liquidation. A thrilled Craig Whyte leaves court having being cleared of all charges Read More Craig Whyte was 'pantomime villain' in saga that saw Rangers spiral into financial abyss Our game’s governing body were accused of not carrying out proper due diligence over Whyte before he took over the club. The team carried on after liquidation, albeit in the bottom tier of Scottish football, after the club's assets were sold by administrators and, when asked about the SFA's handling of the situation that drew considerable criticism at the time, Regan said: "No regrets. "I think the situation that has unfolded over five years is regrettable. It was a unique set of circumstances that was presented to everybody involved at the time and we dealt with it in the best way we could. "We considered the facts, we considered the issues and we took advice, and we came up with what in our view were the right steps." Regan insisted Whyte won’t be allowed back into Scottish football – despite being cleared of any wrongdoing by the courts. The SFA chief added: "The fact that five years on we are still talking about it shows just how long the process has taken. It has had a telling effect on Scottish football. "We found Craig Whyte not to be a fit and proper person several years ago. He won't be coming back, he won't be involved with any football club, he won't be involved with any member of the Scottish FA. "The rules and regulations are very clear. They have been strengthened in recent years." The SFA banned Whyte from Scottish football for life in April 2012 and fined him £200,000, but the money has never been received. Whyte said at the time: "I couldn't care less. It makes no difference to my life whatsoever - and good luck collecting the money." SFA to pursue former Rangers owner Craig Whyte over unpaid fine But Regan claims the SFA could now take legal action to pursue the money. "That will be something we take advice on and, should the opportunity present itself, we would definitely consider that," he said. "There's been a series of cases and challenges as far as Craig Whyte is concerned and the Scottish FA chose not to pursue that because the cost of recovering that could potentially outweigh the money that would be recovered. "He was being challenged through bankruptcy proceedings and a whole host of other cases, so we chose not to pursue that. That is something to consider now." 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERRAB 3,307 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) Whyte was found not to be a fit and proper person to run a football club only after Rangers went into administration over an unpaid tax bill? Did I read that correctly ?? When exactly did Rhegan know Whyte wasn't paying over PAYE & NI ? Edited June 6, 2017 by RANGERRAB 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Even the illegal punishment and subsequent embarrasement in court. Shows hes an idiot 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhunter 0 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Even the illegal punishment and subsequent embarrasement in court. Shows hes an idiot he knows exactly what he's doing , why he's doing it and who he's doing it for. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Blue Devil 0 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 he knows exactly what he's doing , why he's doing it and who he's doing it for. It's not even subtle for crying out loud. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Blue Devil 0 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Even the illegal punishment and subsequent embarrasement in court. Shows hes an idiot We all know he is a complete imbecile and puppet. The power behind him is the worry. Roadblocks all the way for us. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,292 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Whyte was found not to be a fit and proper person to run a football club only after Rangers went into administration over an unpaid tax bill? Did I read that correctly ?? When exactly did Rhegan know Whyte wasn't paying over PAYE & NI ? ... even worse: Ex-Rangers owner Craig Whyte was being chased by the taxman for £3.74m BEFORE he started his catastrophic reign at Ibrox HMRC had instructed debt enforcers to chase Whyte with a bill for almost £4million and threaten him with bankruptcy in May 2011 - the same month that he bought Rangers. By Keith Jackson 07:30, 5 AUG 2014 THE taxman was chasing Craig Whyte for £3.7million before he took over Rangers. HMRC focused on Whyte’s personal finances and made several failed attempts to get him to pay his dues before, during and after his catastrophic reign at Ibrox. The taxman regarded Whyte as a “flight risk”, fearing he might flee the country without settling his huge tax bill. Documents seen by the Record show: * The authorities instructed debt enforcers to chase Whyte with a bill for almost £4million and threaten him with bankruptcy in May 2011, the same month that he bought Rangers. * It was the culmination of a probe begun the previous year when the taxman learned Whyte had returned to the UK in 2005. * Whyte was continually warned he was failing to submit satisfactory tax returns and risked being fined. * He actually claimed at one stage to have a UK taxable worth of just £24 in accrued bank interest. * Yet when he struck the notorious deal with Ticketus for funds to finance his Rangers takeover, he gave the firm a personal guarantee he was worth nearly £33million. This “guarantee”, which was obtained by HMRC, helped them calculate Whyte’s £3,741,835.29 tax bill but he continued stalling tactics to avoid coughing up. At the same time he was able to run up a further £15million in unpaid taxes and penalties during his nine months in charge of Rangers. Whyte had bought Rangers for £1 from Sir David Murray in May 2011, while agreeing to wipe out the club’s £18million debts. But on February 14, 2012, he made a legal move to have the Ibrox outfit placed into administration. By then the club’s debt had rocketed to around £50million. HMRC then rejected a Company Voluntary Arrangement, forcing the club’s owners to be liquidated in a move which also saw Rangers having to start again in the lowest tier of Scottish football. David Murray has long blamed the taxman for the demise of Rangers, saying the spectre of the Big Tax Case – a potential bill of between £46m and £100million, hanging over the club forced his hand in selling up. But a sizeable proportion of Rangers fans still hold Murray at least partly responsible for the club’s demise, arguing he should not have sold to Whyte, whose reputation had already been questioned. Ultimately, Rangers won the Big Tax Case when a tribunal ruled Employee Benefit Trusts paid to players were in fact loans not subject to tax – and HMRC’s appeal against that judgment was rejected this year. Fans remain furious at the taxman for bringing the case in the first place, and the latest documents from July 2012 obtained by the Record are unlikely to quell their anger. They show HMRC began building their case against Whyte from the moment his proposed take over first hit the headlines in November 2010, six months before he was eventually handed the keys to Ibrox. The paperwork from the taxman’s high net worth unit states: “HMRC became aware that Whyte had returned to live in the UK when the press carried stories in 2010 that he was potentially going to purchase Rangers Football Club plc. “HMRC discovered that Whyte had been back in the UK since 2005. He did not notify HMRC of his return to the UK, nor did he complete tax returns.” The documents go on to chronicle various atttempts by the taxman to force Whyte to detail his finances and warnings of fines he faces if he fails to comply. In the absence of his co-operation, the tax office made their own calculations and issued Whyte with demands for £1million for the financial year 2006-07 and £1.2million for the following year. Whyte did finally submitted some returns. But the documents note: “The returns contained entries in respect of net UK bank interest of £24 for 2006-07 and £491 for 2007-08.” This pattern continues throughout the reports, until a damning revelation centring on Whyte’s takeover of Rangers when he secured funding from Ticketus to head off the club’s future debt in exchange for money from season ticket sales. Presumably to convince Ticketus he was a genuine businessman, Whyte gave his own word that he was good for the investment, according to the HMRC documents. They state: “The personal guarantee included a statement of Whyte’s net worth, signed by him, which showed he had net assets with a value of £32,956,843.” This was the evdience HMRC needed to slap Whyte with the tax bill of £3,741,835.29 at the time of his takeover. Just four days after he posed for pictures with the SPL trophy at Rugby Park following a thrilling last day climax to the league campaign, a letter was written to Whyte by HMRC’s higher debt manager detailing the claim and giving him seven days to pay in full. Whyte was warned that a warrant would be served on him by a sheriff officer who would also provide him with a leaflet entitled Dealing with Debt to help him assess his options. The letter continues: “If the debt remains unpaid, I will arrange to present a sequestration petition in your local sheriff court. The effect of this is that you are likely to be made bankrupt and a Trustee appointed to sell your assets and pay your creditors.” Even then Whyte continued to stall, appealing to a tribunal against the judgment. As HMRC do not discuss private tax dealings, the outcome as yet remains unknown. But the emergence of HMRC’s serious concerns about Whyte before his takeover prompted further anger among senior Rangers figures. Alastair Johnston, Rangers chairman at the time, pleaded with Murray not to sell the club to Whyte. He was subsequently axed. Presented with the revelations last night, he said: “On the back of this, I would welcome a full-scale, independent investigation into the actions of HMRC around the Rangers issue.” Former director Paul Murray added: “I have always said that what has happened to Rangers has been nothing short of disgraceful. “The club has been the victim of a fraud. A lot of people have made a lot of money at the club’s expense and it has to end. “It is in the public interest to find out exactly what has happened and then to take action. Justice must be done and be seen to be done.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ex-rangers-owner-craig-whyte-being-3992415 Due dilligence? ... given what came out of HMRC's files post admin, it is extraordinary that such a thing never made it into the public domain before 2014. Or did it? 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 ... even worse: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ex-rangers-owner-craig-whyte-being-3992415 Due dilligence? ... given what came out of HMRC's files post admin, it is extraordinary that such a thing never made it into the public domain before 2014. Or did it? Was it not Jackson that was telling us that Whyte was super rich and the right man for the Job back then. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleam 5,507 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 "....wealth off the radar...." was the now infamous description he employed. Off the radar merely because the set was broken. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC 150 Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 Whyte was found not to be a fit and proper person to run a football club only after Rangers went into administration over an unpaid tax bill? Did I read that correctly ?? When exactly did Rhegan know Whyte wasn't paying over PAYE & NI ? I remeber Dung saying to Traynor on Sportsound in a round up after games and complaining re no chocoalte biscuits at Ibrox: "Well you and I know some crazy things going on there" (with regards to things not being paid) and I also recall later that Liewwell had been told Rangers weren;t paying NI or PAYE and had remarked "lets see ho this plays out". it's utterly scandalous that what was done to us is going to go unpunished - and instead crooks inside and outside the game are benefitting/have benefitted. Then again the Cup Final aftermath last year shows that we are a club that can be attacked with impunity. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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