Craig Whyte has handed himself into the Mexican authorities after hearing news that Dave ‘duped’ Murray has been called into the criminal investigation into the £1 sale of Rangers (IL) in 2011.
An arrest warrant was issued for the former billionaire last week after Duff & Phelps duo Paul Clarke and Dave Whitehouse appeared in court alongside Gary Withey and David Grier.
Whyte was greeted as a hero when he paid Murray £1 in May 2011 with the legendary steel and property tycoon on record as saying that he would only sell out to someone with the club’s best interests at heart.
After six months of talks in which the asking price dropped from £30m to just £1, Whyte was given the keys to the blue room, marble staircase and 138 years of unsurpassed dignity.
The deal also involved Whyte picking up the tab for the £6m unpaid wee tax case but despite that unpaid social tax the SFA provided Rangers with the licence to play in the 2011/12 Champions League qualifiers.
Whyte’s hopes for a new era of Ibrox domination hit the skids in the disastrous second half of 2011 as Ally McCoist’s side crashed out of the Champions League, Europa League and lost a 15 point lead to Neil Lennon’s Celtic side.
Seven weeks after losing their lead at the top of the table to Celtic Whyte put Rangers into administration with liquidation confirmed 13 months after he had handed his pound coin over to disgraced Sir Dave.
Liquidators BDO and Police Scotland have been examining the accounts of the now liquidated club shedding light on a number of transactions.
With Whyte’s habit of recording almost every conversation that took place around his takeover the man from Motherwell has inside knowledge of every transaction either side of the £1 deal.
Murray’s claim of being duped is bound to come under scrutiny with Whyte providing the links between the Murray days and the transfer of assets, facilitated by Duff and Phelps onto Sevco 5088 and ultimately Sevco Scotland.