Craig Whyte alone to face Rangers fraud charges
Former Rangers owner Craig Whyte is now the only person facing charges over allegations that he participated in a large scale fraud during his time at the Ibrox club.
Former Rangers owner Craig Whyte is now the only person facing charges over allegations that he participated in a large scale fraud during his time at the Ibrox club.
Originally, he was charged along with six others in relation of alleged offences relating to the acquisition of the club in May 2011 and its financial management.
At the High Court in Glasgow 45-year-old Whyte heard that only he is currently being prosecuted by the Crown.
He was the only person in the dock, flanked by two security guards.
Advocate depute Bill McVicar revealed that charges have been dropped against Gary Withey, 51, David Grier, 55, David Whitehouse, 51, and Paul Clark, 51, saying: “There will be no further proceedings.” In relation to Charles Green, 63, and Imran Ahmad, 46, proceedings have been dropped in relation to the indictment involving Whyte.
Mr McVicar said that Crown counsel are considering the position in relation to Green and added: “I think it's fair to say any proceedings relating to Mr Green would be dealt with separately. Any proceedings against Mr Ahmad would be dealt with, with Mr Green.”
Judge Lord Bannatyne said: “You are saying the only person left in the dock is Mr Whyte and I can proceed towards a trial.”
Whyte, who has not entered any plea as yet to the charges against him yesterday sacked his senior counsel Tony Graham.
His junior counsel Allan MacLeod is still instructed and asked for the case to be continued for a further preliminary hearing in July.
The court heard that the Crown intend to revise the charges against Whyte.
Lord Bannatyne told MacLeod: “I would expect you to be in a position to say what is going to happen. I would expect some plea to be entered so that a trial can be fixed.”
Defence counsel Claire Mitchell, representing Mr Whitehouse, appeared in court, along with her client – although he was not in the dock, to hear that proceedings had been dropped against him.
Mr Clark was also in court to hear that he no longer faces prosecution.
They made no comment as they left court, separately from Whyte. Rangers administrators have also issued the following statement:
"On 14 February 2012, David Whitehouse and Paul Clark were appointed as joint administrators of Rangers Football Club.
For reasons that were never made clear to the administrators, the Crown decided to bring criminal charges against them in late 2014. On Friday 14 November 2014, both Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark were arrested, held in a police station for the weekend, and taken to court. This process was repeated in September 2015. From the outset, both Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark have emphatically denied all allegations of criminal conduct against them. With the assistance of their lawyers, they have consistently argued that the Crown's charges against them were entirely without foundation.
At a hearing in February 2016, the Crown finally accepted the defence position in relation to the majority of the charges brought against the administrators. The remaining two charges were then dismissed by the court. Since then, the defence has repeatedly asked the Crown to confirm that the case against David Whitehouse and Paul Clark is at an end.
That has at last been confirmed.
This brings the proceedings against David Whitehouse and Paul Clark to an end. They are no longer the subject of any investigations or allegations.
David Whitehouse and Paul Clark are relieved at the outcome. They are grateful to their families, friends, colleagues and legal teams for their support during a very difficult period. They will now be considering what further steps might be open to them to address the damage caused to their reputations and careers by a prosecution which should never have been brought."