Rangers takeover prosecution payouts set to top £53m after 'malicious' investigation 10 years ago

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The taxpayer faces a bill of £53 million after the "malicious" prosecution of seven individuals linked to the takeover of Rangers FC more than a decade ago.

The latest figures reveal the huge cost of a decision to investigate those who took charge of the Govan club in the aftermath of its financial collapse in 2012 . In a statement to the Record, the Crown Office today described the huge cost of the failed prosecutions as "regrettable". It insisted "significant steps to safeguard against similar situations arising again" had been taken.



The botched investigation ultimately led to no convictions and only one individual - former Rangers owner Craig Whyte - was ever taken to court, where he was cleared by a jury of all charges in 2017. The Crown Office has so far paid out £52.2m to those who were wrongfully arrested as a result of the investigation - but the final bill is likely to be higher as it does not include the settlement and expenses awarded to the last of the complainers .

There were fears the final bill for taxpayers could top £60m. The new figures were revealed by the Scottish Parliament in a written answer to MSP Murdo Fraser. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) also faces the prospect of a separate judge-led into why two men were wrongfully prosecuted during the fraud probe.

The probe was announced in 2021 but could finally begin work later this year once all civil litigations against the Crown Office are completed. A COPFS spokesman said: "We appreciate that these costs are particularly regrettable given the pressure on public finances. Throughout these cases we have sought to protect the public purse from avoidable costs.

The Crown is committed to public scrutiny of these cases and more information will be made available in due course. "Since the prosecutions which gave rise to these civil actions, the Crown has taken significant steps to safeguard against similar situations arising again. New arrangements for managing complex cases have been implemented and are now well established.

" Financial experts David Whitehouse and Paul Clark were appointed administrators when the company that ran Rangers went into administration in 2012. They were arrested in 2014 but all charges were later dropped. The Crown has since said their prosecution was "malicious" and both men were awarded £10.

5m each in damages. In an appeal, the Inner House of the Court of Session ruled the Lord Advocate does not have absolute immunity from suit for malicious prosecution. In 2023, a report from Audit Scotland warned the full bill for payouts related to the Rangers malicious prosecution scandal could be higher than £60m.

Scotland’s most senior judge this week insisted a figure from the Scottish legal system should oversee the inquiry. Lord Carloway, who is stepping down after almost a decade in the role, said: "The Crown Office do have certain privileges, et cetera. "But I think most people would accept that if somebody believes a public officer behaves maliciously, then they really ought to be accountable for that act of malice and that’s basically what we decided.

"I wasn’t involved in whatever negotiations went on between the Crown and the people involved at that. It’s a very large sum of money." Frank Mulholland was serving as Lord Advocate - Scotland's top law officer - when he sanctioned prosecutions related to the Rangers takeover.

His term as Lord Advocate ended in 2016 and he is now a leading high court judge. He was awarded a CBE in 2017. James Wolfe was appointed Lord Advocate in 2016 and would later be forced to apologise in parliament for the Crown Office's handling of the prosecutions.

In February 2021, Mulholland issued a statement via his solicitor to hit out at "false and scandalous" attacks made on him by opposition MSPs. One Tory member alleged that Mulholland had "went out of his way to see to it that two innocent men were hounded by the state". Whitehouse and Clark were appointed administrators when the company that ran the Ibrox club went into administration.

The duo had been brought in to oversee the books as Rangers underwent a period of financial crisis. They left Ibrox in October 2012 and were arrested two years later. Insolvency expert David Grier, who worked alongside Whitehouse and Clark at Rangers in 2012, was arrested in 2014.

Gary Withey , a lawyer who advised Craig Whyte during his takeover of Rangers, was arrested in 2014. Businessman Charles Green became chief executive of Rangers in the summer of 2012 and stood down in April the following year. He was arrested in 2015.

Imran Ahmad, a finance expert, was appointed Rangers commercial director at the same time as Green. He had left by April 2013. He was arrested in 2015.

All charges against Withey, Clark, Whitehouse, Grier, Ahmad and Green were dropped in 2016. Craig Whyte was the only one of the seven whose case proceeded to trial. He was cleared following a seven-week trial in 2017.

Five of them would later sue the Crown Office and Police Scotland. In 2019, the Court of Session paved the way for pay-outs to be made after it ruled the office of Lord Advocate does not have immunity from claims of malicious prosecution. In August 2020, a lawyer representing the Lord Advocate admitted the prosecution against David Whitehouse and Paul Clark, beyond their initial court appearance, was "malicious" and conducted without "probable cause" To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.