Alex McLeish given a flat from his EBT
The former Ibrox boss was one of the major beneficiaries of the tax scheme that recruited the bulk of the players McLeish brought to Ibrox.
With thousands of pounds tucked away in off-shore accounts those in receipt of EBT’s were effectively paid gross with HMRC denied millions of pounds in PAYE and National Insurance.
The latest stage in the long running saga opened today in Edinburgh and was open to the public.
According to the report on STV website: “It emerged at Monday’s hearing that in addition to receiving cash via an EBT from Rangers, former manager Alex McLeish – referred to as Mr Violet in the initial determination – also had a flat bought for him by the trust.”
McLeish joined Rangers in December 2001 and left five years later after finishing third in the SPL behind Celtic and Hearts.
In May 2012 the BBC published a list of some of those that had benefited from the EBT scheme claiming that McLeish had been paid £1.7m.
Three months later McLeish was pressed on the matter and admitted: “I was at the club at the time and had lawyers who looked at the contracts and everything was okayed. It’s not something I’m particularly comfortable about discussing.
“There was no cloak and dagger stuff. My lawyer looked at it and it was the type of contract that you know that going to a club like Rangers or Celtic, you would be expecting.
“I reduced the wages by half, so I’m not guilty of bringing any players in at top prices. It was in my era at Rangers it was about the opposite – I was working with the club to reduce the costs and wages and at the same time keeping the competitive edge, which we did.”
Asked about David Murray’s motivations McLeish added: “David is a businessman, a succesful businessman, and he had a dream of Rangers winning the European Cup- he tried everything in his power to do that.”
The latest phase of the EBT appeal is likely to be concluded in mid March.