Law chiefs spent £1.5m on failed fraud trial of ex-Rangers owner Craig Whyte

[forlanssister 3,050]

Law chiefs spent £1.5m on failed fraud trial of ex-Rangers owner Craig Whyte

 

Legal chiefs spent more than £1.5 million, including £1.1 million on staff, on the Craig Whyte fraud trial.

 

The Crown Office officials also spent an extra £400,000 on “witnesses and external contractors”, figures released under freedom of information legislation reveal.

 

A spokesman said: “The figure is £1,551,011.15. It should be noted that this does not include all costs associated with this investigation and prosecution, many of which have been addressed within the existing budgetary framework and not recorded separately.”

 

After a 31-day trial at the high court in Glasgow Mr Whyte, 46, was cleared of fraudulently taking over Rangers.

 

A jury took just two hours to find him not guilty in June, leading to criticism of the move to take him to court. Prosecutors claimed that Mr Whyte duped the Ibrox owner Sir David Murray by telling him he had cash “immediately available” to buy an 85 per cent stake in the club in 2011, but he then arranged a £24 million loan from Ticketus, a finance company, secured against the club’s future season ticket sales.

 

The tally brings the taxpayers’ bill for the trial to more than £2 million after Mr Whyte received £438,513.55 legal aid for his defence team.

 

Mr Whyte is to publish a book about his spell at the club, which ended with it being liquidated in 2012.

 

It emerged last week that a £9 million lawsuit against Phil Gormley, the chief constable of Police Scotland, and James Wolffe, QC, the lord advocate, brought by David Whitehouse, a former administrator of the club, will be heard next year. He says that his arrest damaged his reputation and was unlawful. Charges against him were dropped.

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/law-chiefs-spent-1-5m-on-failed-fraud-trial-of-ex-rangers-owner-craig-whyte-vx3rnldvw

[the gunslinger 3,366]

Police scotland etc really are a joke

 

 

[Doc 280]

You just have to look at the aftermath of the Cup Final against Hibs to confirm that.

 

The Keystone Cops would have done a better job.

[RANGERRAB 3,255]

It was nothing more than a half-hearted attempt to convict Whyte. A sixth year could have presented a better prosecution case.

 

Donald Findlay muddied the waters at the trial & succeeded in getting Whyte released. For example why was WS in the witness box? The focus of the trial should have on Whyte and whether he fraudulently acquired Rangers. Instead it became all about a load of other issues unconnected with the main issue

[Frankie 8,148]

A shambles...

[StuGers 477]

Just another snippet of information which is part of a massively suspicious story.

[compo 6,126]

I think its the Procurator Fiscals office that's got questions to answer .

[Bill 13,717]

I believe faith in the justice system in Scotland is at an all time low and it's not difficult to see why.

[RANGERRAB 3,255]

I think its the Procurator Fiscals office that's got questions to answer .

 

and SDM too

[Walterbear 557]

It was nothing more than a half-hearted attempt to convict Whyte. A sixth year could have presented a better prosecution case.

 

Donald Findlay muddied the waters at the trial & succeeded in getting Whyte released. For example why was WS in the witness box? The focus of the trial should have on Whyte and whether he fraudulently acquired Rangers. Instead it became all about a load of other issues unconnected with the main issue

 

Spot on. Findlay put Rangers on trial and Whyte walked because in such a murky world of corporate governance such as football clubs everyone is ‘at it’ and reasonable doubt was all that Findlay required. The EBT announcement on its judgement was delayed until this case was concluded in case it influenced the verdict in a criminal case, but even without that negative judgement in his back pocket Findlay managed to drive a horse and cart through the credibility of some former Rangers men.

 

In all the drama about our new manager and our current erratic form on the park the lessons of the past and the incoming charlatans who fleeced us should not be forgotten by anyone with any positive interest in Rangers and Its not that long ago and it’s not been easy to fix. As a priority good corporate governance and financial sustainability must be the first goal and I suspect our recent history of carelessness is leading to extreme caution or perhaps even paralysis on the managerial front (there will be the added complexity of individual agendas on a board which has rich people who are investing / lending equally).

 

I suppose all of this was inevitable in the fall out from the administration and liquidation process of oldco (which isn’t finished). When you look at the colossal mess perhaps it’s not too surprising we are still in very stormy seas. The board just can’t afford another year of scrap and rebuild and that’s the reality. But what we do need is far stronger visible leadership. If I’m sailing through a storm I prefer my skipper to be in the wheelhouse and highly visible rather than below deck. They are leaving themselves open to every half wit that populatesthe airwaves (Hi BBC!) snd this in turn causes more damage and makes the long term job of restructuring the club more difficult. But for the very reason of the difficulty there is surely even more need to employ better credible people to lead us on and off the park. So who does that leave on the football side? It can’t be a here today gone tomorrow lower grade EPL type, and it can’t be a gamble on a continental, and there are very few managers in Scotland who fit the bill of being a heavyweight in terms of contacts, knowledge and ability to work to a low budget.

 

Perhaps the answer is staring us in the face. I’m just about coming round to nicking Steve Clarke off Kilmarnock. Might put a bet on. Should be interesting on Saturday.