Former Rangers owner Craig Whyte wins taxpayer-funded legal aid for fraud case

FORMER Rangers owner Craig Whyte has been granted taxpayer-funded legal aid to answer allegations he conspired to commit major international fraud to take over the Ibrox club.

Today The Sunday Post can exclusively reveal solicitors acting on behalf of Mr Whyte, 44, applied to the Scottish Legal Aid Board.

And after considering his financial position the body has agreed to fund the case.

Prosecutors claim Mr Whyte obtained more than £28 million fraudulently to fund a takeover of Rangers with four others.

The former owner is accused along with David Grier, 54, David Whitehouse, 50, and Paul Clark, 51, of former administrators Duff and Phelps, and former adviser Gary Withey, 51, of a conspiracy to get the money from ticket firm Ticketus and a firm called Merchant Turnaround PLC.

However, last night justice campaigners questioned the decision to grant Mr Whyte the funds.

David Hines, a spokesman for the National Victims’ Association, said the legal funding system was “broken” and “needs reform”.

He said: “It’s unfair on the taxpayer when fees are paid in questionable circumstances.

“Up until now there’s been too much resistance for anything meaningful to happen.

“It seems to me there’s too much self-interest.

“Is covering Mr Whyte’s legal fees what the system was set up for?”

Mr Hines set up the charity after his daughter Marie, 23, was murdered by former partner Anthony Davison in 1992.

“In my personal case I wasn’t granted legal aid, but the accused was,” he added. “That was very hard for us to comprehend.

“Many other people have been affected in a similar way, and you often have to ask where is the common sense in it all?

“Too often we see victims who don’t even get the chance to speak to a lawyer.

“The system is wrong and needs revamped, otherwise we will continue to have questionable awards.”

Last week security was tight as Mr Whyte and his co-accused arrived at the High Court in Edinburgh, but there was no repeat of the ugly scenes that had marred a previous court appearance in Glasgow.

Lord Turnbull, who is hearing the case, imposed reporting restrictions on the Press, but details of the 20-page document outlining the claims against the accused can be reported.

In the first of the charges, prosecutors allege that Mr Whyte, Mr Withey, Mr Grier, Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark indulged in a conspiracy between January 1, 2010, and February 16, 2012, at various locations in Scotland, England, France and Monaco.

It is alleged they conspired to “acquire and obtain by fraud a majority and controlling stake in the shareholding of Rangers”.

Whyte faces numerous charges relating to his time as Rangers owner (SNS Group / Craig Foy)

Prosecutors claim they acted illegally in their dealings with Ticketus over a deal regarding the sale of season tickets.

The charges also allege that on May 20, 2011, at SFA headquarters, Mr Whyte hid the fact he had previously been banned from serving as a company director.

It is claimed he did this to satisfy the SFA that he was a “fit and proper” person to take control of Rangers.

According to court documents, it is further claimed Mr Whyte, Mr Whitehouse, Mr Clark and former club chief executive Charles Green, 62, conspired to buy Rangers for “considerably” less than its market value.

Another charge alleges that between February 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012, at Ibrox and other locations throughout Europe, Mr Whyte, Mr Whitehouse, Mr Clark and Mr Green agreed “to do something you knew or suspected, or ought reasonably to have known or suspected, would enable or further the commission of serious organised crime”.

Proceedings against ex-club director Imran Ahmad, 45, have been temporarily halted.

Mr Whyte, of Lancashire, Mr Withey, of Surrey, Mr Grier, of Wokingham, Berkshire, Mr Clark and Mr Whitehouse, c/o Duff and Phelps, and Mr Green did not enter pleas.

Lord Turnbull adjourned the case until December.

The Sunday Post contacted Mr Whyte’s legal team, but they did not return our calls.

Last night a spokeswoman for the Scottish Legal Aid Board confirmed the fees were being paid in respect of Mr Whyte.

She said: “We can confirm that criminal legal aid has been granted to solicitors acting for Craig Whyte.

“In an application for legal aid an applicant is required to disclose their full financial circumstances.

“When assessing an application we consider the accused’s financial eligibility in accordance with statutory tests.

“That includes whether the cost of the case can be met without undue hardship to them or their dependants.”

Details of Mr Whyte’s funding emerged after it was revealed lawyers for former chief executive Charles Green were taking Rangers to court in a bid to get them to pay his legal fees.

Judge Lord Tyre has said he will hear the case on November 12 and 13 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

He added that he was “persuaded of the need for a debate” about the claim by the Ibrox club’s former chief executive.

Green alleges the company should meet his expenses.

But current chief Dave King said the application will be “strongly resisted”.

Arrived at court with mystery woman

EARLIER this month, Craig Whyte was pictured arriving at court with a mystery woman before joining four fellow suspects in the dock for the first public hearing over the Rangers takeover fraud case.

The former club owner’s companion turned heads outside court before she watched proceedings from the public gallery at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The case was moved to the capital for “better management of proceedings” after previous hearings had been marred by angry scenes.

Mr Whyte, 44, was born in Motherwell and educated at Glasgow’s Kelvinside Academy but in a later interview claimed he couldn’t stand his time at the private school.

He said: “I hated the discipline of it. It was a rugby-only school, which I didn’t play as I was interested in football.”

Mr Whyte worked weekends for his dad’s plant hire firm and saved up his wages to fund his early business career.

When his father sold out, Mr Whyte, then 19, went out on his own and started his own plant hire company in Glasgow’s Gallowgate.

Despite their relegation down the footballing division, Rangers remain one of the biggest and best-supported clubs in the world.

The club has a global fan-base, with 600 supporters’ clubs worldwide ranging from North America to Australasia to the Middle East.Legal aid controversyTHE current Scottish legal aid system was set up almost 30 years ago.

It was designed to help individuals on low incomes gain access to the justice system.

But it has been dogged by controversy.

Scores of top advocates, including Gordon Jackson QC and former Rangers vice-chairman Donald Findlay QC, pocket hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in legal aid earnings. And the total annual bill for criminal and civil legal assistance is £142 million, with legal aid payments to solicitors amounting to £117m.

While the Scottish Legal Aid Board has made efficiency savings of about £20m, it has remained under pressure to bring its costs down further.

Alistair Morris, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said: “The current system of legal aid is no longer fit for purpose and, with the ongoing reforms to modernise the wider court and justice system, we believe the time is right for root-and-branch change.

“It’s essential we have a legal assistance system that protects the most vulnerable in our society and works effectively for those who depend on legal aid, but also for those who provide legal advice.”

Last month, public spending watchdog Audit Scotland also that warned duty solicitors were pressuring clients to lodge not guilty pleas to increase the amount they could claim in legal aid.

SLAB officials have pledged to investigate the “go to trial for the money” allegations.