After many years of speculation and debate, former Rangers owner, Craig Whyte, and founding father of newco Rangers, Charles Green, have been detained by police and are due to appear in court connected to the “alleged fraudulent acquisition” of Rangers assets, which were sold after the club failed to prevent a liquidator being appointed.
Joint administrators for Rangers, Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, then employed by Duff and Phelps, have also been detained in connection with the case.
Let’s get the rules clear from the off:
Anyone charged with a crime is entitled to a fair trial. They should not be subject to public comment which is likely to prejudice their ability to receive a fair trial. Don’t let anything of this nature appear on CQN.
You can discuss the issue, and you can discuss consequences of similar-sounding hypothetical cases, but unless you are cited to as a juror, don’t try to convict anyone.
The events surrounding Rangers liquidation and the subsequent asset purchase took place over three years ago. That this case has now found such momentum suggests the police are following a strong lien of enquiry, and have overcome whatever inertia which can sometimes affect white-collar crime.
We don’t know what is alleged fraudulently took place. The role of the administrators to carry out their duties on behalf of creditors is clearly established. That said, plenty of lateral is afforded to administrators (although increasing payroll by trying to sign Daniel Cousin raised eyebrows).
Exactly how Sevco Scotland Ltd (now The Rangers Football Club Ltd) were able to buy Rangers assets (for £5.5m) when the company who successfully bid for the assets was Sevco 5088 Ltd, has remained an open question since Craig Whyte claimed a controlling interest in Sevco 5088 Ltd.
Whatever the nature of the police charges, there is one overarching fact which Scottish football should be alert to.
Any company, football club or otherwise, which relies on assets that were criminally acquired to go about its business cannot continue to operate with those assets.
In this instance, the stadium, training ground, intellectual property, balls, nets and goalposts were all acquired by the company now known as The Rangers Football Club Ltd.
The consequences of this one are so massive several well-informed people suspected it would never get this far. But the day has come.
Even if all charges are dropped or allegations found to be false, there will still be immediate and real consequences. How would you, for example, go about raising money for a company with this hanging over it? Newco needs money, and they need to convince investors that the club did not start by criminally acquiring its football stadium.
Good luck with that.
I see in some places a fallacy persists that the SFA found Craig Whyte fit and proper to be a director of a football club. They did no such thing. The responsibility for ensuring Whyte’s fitness in 2011 lay with the Rangers board of directors, including Dave King and Paul Murray. The SFA have no powers to intercede or prevent a club from appointing any director it chooses.
Earlier this year Dave King took the unusual step of asking for prior-clearance that his appointment would not be found contrary to SFA rules (presumably due to his criminal convictions), before being appointed a director, but this was at King’s discretion. There is no SFA Fit and Proper test, the SFA do not clear or otherwise sanction any club director prior to appointment, this is the job of the club itself. Dave King, Paul Murray but most of all, Sir David Murray, take a bow.
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Carson Yeung at Birmingham City – a cautionary tale.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/2648896
we should just use the left overloose change from the Virgil transfer fee and buy the goddamned assets ourselves and then shut them down once and for all
more twists than a twisty thing tied up in knots
Someone posted this link earlier :-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-34127507
Anyone arrested for BOP?
Nah, didn’t think so.
It may well have been Duff and Phelps who made sure that, in a business sense, that there would be an entity operating out of Ibrox and Murray Park – but it was the establishment in Scotland, which reverted to kind and employed the Scottish laws of Expediency and Appeasement, in favour of their ‘favourite’ sons.
These laws were never more apparent than in the LNS fiasco.
The Scottish Football authorities and the Scottish mainstream media, reinforced and legitimised the outcomes of these laws, and continue, without exception, today and everyday.
Let’s not kid ourselves that the latest developments will impinge adversely on the new renamed Sevco club – a separation between then and now will be advanced by the aforementioned authorities, institutions and media outlets, to distance the Championship club from the current revelations – of course when it comes to the ‘history’, and the five plastic stars, no such separation was ever countenanced.
Many erudite, informative and insightful posts today have made the blog good reading. Many thanks to the posters for the time taken and thought provoking contributions.
Transfer activity opinions, board strategies and of course ‘Sevcogate’ inputs have been engaging, sometimes controversial and occasionally humorous – and no irrelevant and tedious political crap to wade through.
Days like this are why I started to read and occasionally post to CQN – long may it last.
Tontine Tim on 2nd September 2015 5:19 pm
Great post my friend – well said.
fan-a-tic
Ronny is far from the finished artical, but I do believe he will get there.
I think he will get the time, Pedro has gambled on him big time, but alas imo, he didn’t back him.
Ronny did ask for experience, he didn’t get any, it’s all very well buying projects, and I still think it’s the way to go, but as Ronny wanted a few old heads to compliment the projects, I think the team will be found wanting in europe due to the lack of experience, hopefully I am wrong.
Whatever, it’s not RD’s team as yet.
HH
Paul Clark and David Whitehouse , professionals involved in a business ( corporate insolvency) which is generally regarded as respectable and pretty lucrative and in a firm which , it seems , is / was highly regarded and high profile.
Irrespective of the outcome (even if not convicted of a single charge), they are now appearing in criminal courts, possibly fighting for their liberty.
I wonder how much they now regret taking THAT phone call. I doubt there’s any scale on which that can be measured.
Sheila “Chompers” McLaren.
The Battered Bunnet on 2nd September 2015 5:13 pm
There’s a lot of fun to be had with some of the implications in all of this, but we oughtn’t lose sight of the fact that the football authorities acted in (presumably unwitting) concert with those currently facing fraud charges, patronising the new entity and its owners. And moreover, ensuring the fans of the old club were well and truly taken for a ride, without whom the entire enterprise could never have occurred
===============================
I remember saying to my niece’s husband a good true blue in Sept 2012 when he was saying how much things would improve under CG that CG was a spiv.
If I/we could all see that pretty quickly how in God’s name did the SFA not see it?
I do appreciate they operated under the Armageddon fear I just hope they have learned since.
Some really good contributions this evening and none more so than Tontine Tim, thank you!
For any legal folk out there
If Green, Whyte & Gaol’d are prosecuted, will it be before a jury, and given the press / mob already have them pronounced guilty, can the defense lawyers argue that each of them is unlikely to get a fair trial ?
Totally unrelated …our transfer policy.
I would have liked us to bring in a striker, but equally, I am glad we didn’t bring in someone for the sake of it.
Paul 67 intimates there has been a change in strategy regarding recruiting strikers, and that can only be a positive.
If we look at our signings over the last 4/5 years, we can split them into two camps
First UK sourced players
I would argue the most successful area for us is recruiting from bottom end EPL / The Championship, where we found Kelvin Wilson, Hooper, Commons, Ledley, Forster, Matthews, Griffiths
In nearly all of those cases, we had a bit of inside knowledge of the player before we signed them, through NL or Alan Thompson, and, we got them in early doors during transfer windows.
In all cases we made a decent return in terms of performances or sell on fees.
If we then look at foreign signings, we have a mixed bag.
For defenders and midfielders, we have done relatively well with Lustig, VVD, Wanyama, Ki, Bitton, Johansen and even guys like Kayal and Efe.
In forward positions, our signings have been a disaster with money wasted on Bangura, Scepovic, Lassad, Miku, Pukki and Balde.
The common elements for me are that most of these guys were late signings, didn’t like the physical / pace of Scottish game, wouldn’t go in where it hurts, and have subsequently flopped at other clubs, which suggests they were duds to start.
I suspect for most, we were their third or fourth choice move, as they were to us.
I am not pretending I have the answers, but it does suggest that on paper our strategy for forwards should focus on guys in the Championship, who may well have been EPL players 10/12 years ago before the foreign influx, and are given the stage to perform at CP.
My suggestion is that if you were to draw up an identikit, it should model Griffiths / Hooper both of whom started at small clubs, moved a few times, remained hungry, and gradually built their way to CP
I would also suggest we ‘relax’ our age profile when buying strikers .
I am thinking about guys ‘ like’ a Dean Windass or Rickie lambert , who in late 20’s , may see CP as their last chance at the big stage , are hungry to take it, and will thrive for 2/3 years in the adulation they get at CP.
I know there are some people discontented with the lack of the signing of a striker – perhaps no one Ronny fancied wanted to come to Scotland – he has expressed his satisfaction at the dealings in the ‘window’.
Maybe Stokes may now rediscover the appetite to match his undoubted skill – many thought, maybe even he, thought he was on his way.
Let’s get behind Griffiths and Cifti – the latter has not really had a chance recently, let’s give him one.
Someone mentioned that GMS could be drafted in to a striking position during the season, when required, I think that this is feasible.
We have strengthened all other areas of the squad – this means we may be able to concentrate on a striker and bring the right man in in January.
It looks like that we may have, at last, a settled squad for the CL next year – I do understand that the striker position leaves big doubts in our minds as we anticipate the EL Group.
Who knows we may get an out of contract experienced goal-scorer over the next week, or, so.
Ugly scenes at rainjurs…….!
;)
Pastry – all tge pretence, obfuscation, scheming and covering up did not stop liquidation, the various calamities on ‘the journey’ since 2012. It did not and cannot change the reality faced by sevco. Their future now depends on an investigation and possible lengthy court proceedings.
The SMSM will continue to peddle distorted truth to sooth The Peepul but it won’t change the actual truth. If I had TUPED my football allegiances from Rangers to TRIFC I’d be pooping it right now…..
If I understood the possible ramifications for the new club and the stadium they bought.
It’s like 2011all over. They are looking for investment but have the sword of damacles dangling over their heads. No new cash is going in to them until the legal stuff is resolved.
Are people beginning to understand now why people like me have not the slightest worry about Sevco emerging as challengers in the SPFL? Every way they turn is a dead end or a massive downsize. Housing choice for hunnery……
Housing = hobsons
Believe it or not, I had a hun come up to me this morning and asked for an apology as his club had done no wrong it was green & whyte to blame all along.
It cheered me up… A monkey goofball ;)
Good evening Mr Pastry.
How is MRS Pastry?
I have their comments on the blog where much more humorous than your own. You are fortunate to have such a woman as your wife.
Robert tressell
Total agree. The huns have been dead for several years and yet some on here as well as their own loyal legions cannot accept it.
On hun forums, it’s lawwell and the fenian s tried to kill rangers and here its lawwell and the quisling back of the bus brigade are keeping rangers alive
Sorry Mr Pastry.
I meant to type. I have to say, hope it all makes sense to you now. If not perhaps Mrs Pastry can help.
Interesting team from all 11 players brought in during 2015 transfer windows:
———————————– Bailly (29) ——————————————
Janko (19) —- Boyata (24) ———– Simunovic (21) —– Blackett (21)
——————- Armstrong (23) —– Allan (23) ——————————-
——– GMS (25) ———– Ciftci (23) —————- Christie (20) ———-
———————————-Duffy (20) ——————————————–
Average age of outfield players = 21.9 years
RobertTressell on 2nd September 2015 6:32 pm
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Don’t disagree with all you say – however the previous scandals, administration and liquidation, may just have been side-shows in the re-launching of ‘Rangers’ straight back into the top tier, three years ago, were it not for the efforts of the late, redoubtable Mr Turnbull Hutton.
I ‘hae ma doots’ that the latest ‘circus’ will impact to the extent that you intimate – although we may live in hope.
WITS – aye. But re lawwell I reckon they are all correct. I have it on good authority that he has done all those things and many many more.
Northern Rock and the collapse of the financial sector? Yep. Pete Lawwell
The migrant crisis? Lawwell
JFK? I can neither confirm nor deny…
Robert tressell
Nothing like a bit of schadenfreude to lighten the mood.
We are such fickle souls
RT
I also blame him for global warming
Clashcitybhoy
The proceedings that have been brought against Green, Whyte, et al are all solemn proceedings which mean that all of them will tried before a jury.
There is precedent for the defence suggesting to the court that, given prior publicity or even prior proceedings, it would be impossible to guarantee a fair trial before jurors who had not heard of the case, the publicity, or had even discussed the certain aspects of the case with previous jurors who had heard evidence in related cases.
Many years ago I had such a case in Dumfries and made such a motion to the High Court in Edinburgh.
The result was that they moved the case to Stranraer on the basis that it was sufficiently far away – and out of the way – to ensure that the jury were neither localnor likely to have had any prior involvement with anyone who might have been a prior juror.
In this instance the case has had national publicity but that is common.
However, you might find that the case is not heard in Glasgow!
The real issue with a lengthy #Sevco legal case dragging on for years is Type 2 diabetes…
I mean can you imagine the amount of jelly & ice cream to be consumed.
Árd Macha
Robert Russell.
Big Peter attended the same school as me, I was always receiving the belt as the teachers found out I had been up to no good. I bet you it was big Peter that was sticking me in.
Real Madrid citing Peter Lawwell as the reason for the collapse of De Gea transfer. A spokesman from Madrid said, ‘Lawwell? Si, probablemente…’
BROGAN ROGAN TREVINO AND HOGAN SUPPORTS OSCAR KNOX, MACKENZIE FURNISS AND ANYONE ELSE WHO FIGHTS NEUROBLASTOMA on 2ND SEPTEMBER 2015 6:49 PM
Clashcitybhoy
That’s right.
That’s why the Leeds United Trial – Woodgate, Bowyer et al – was held in Hull, not Leeds.
News just in … for the first time in recorded history a queue of people asking to be called for jury service has formed in Glasgow.
PATRICK27 on 2ND SEPTEMBER 2015 5:22 PM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-34127507
Hordes not happy
Charlie Green was about 0.5 of a second away from getting a punch on his coupon if he hadn’t got himself into the awaiting chariot when he did!
Feel a bit sorry for the cameraman that got caught in the stampede……just hope “the big hoose must stay open” zombie wasn’t in it or the fella wouldn’t have stood a chance.
BROGAN ROGAN TREVINO AND HOGAN SUPPORTS OSCAR KNOX, MACKENZIE FURNISS AND ANYONE ELSE WHO FIGHTS NEUROBLASTOMA on 2ND SEPTEMBER 2015 6:49 PM
Here is another curve Ball.
Jurors will most likely be challenged, albeit I believe the number of challenges will be restricted. However, potential Juror is asked, do you like Football and who do you Support. Now it is a given if the answer is Celtic an objection will be raised.
What if they answer Rangers, what would happen? The reason I ask is that as the accused ripped them off, mighten they too be potentially prejudiced?
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
BT – Careful now – he has connections……
WITS can schadenfreude play up front???
Thunder Road – rumour has it tge Big Hoose guy has been told,to eat green and white on sight.
I am surprised tonight not one Rangers supporter offered Charles Green a cup of tea when he left the court today yet the big man gave them tea when they were waiting for tickets they have no gratitude those huns. H.H.
Lennybhoy
i will just claim to be a St Mirren fan like chick hun if called.
So in the Big Hoose that must stay open, as the officer roars ‘lights Out’!
Prisoner 1690 says to his cellmate 1972 ‘ Tell me that wee story about we don’t do walking away’.