Were the SFA duped by Green as he faces charges of fraudulently obtaining assets?

Three and a half years after being granted SFA membership for Sevco Charles Green has been charged with fraudulently obtaining £5.5m to buy the assets of Rangers (IL).

Once a CVA from Rangers was rejected in June 2012 Mr Green started the process of buying the assets from administrators Dudd & Phelps.

Despite Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park having been valued at £130m they were purchased by Green for £5.5m with the new club given membership after lengthy discussions with the SFA.

The Yorkshire businessman is also charged with fraudulently raising £21m from an IPO in 2012. Walter Smith was a non-executive director of the club at the time of the IPO.

Today’s charges are a major embarassment to Stewart Regan who was at the heart of the negotiations alongside former Rangers (IL) director Campbell Ogilvie who was President of the SFA at that time.

On 27 July 2012 the SFA announced: “The Scottish FA has received all necessary information and documentation from Sevco Scotland Ltd, including details of the company structure, shareholders, financial projections and business plan.

Stewart Regan said: “We are pleased for everyone involved in this process, and indeed the whole of Scottish football, that a conclusion has been reached.

“There were a number of complex and challenging issues involved but, primarily, the Scottish FA had to be satisfied that the new owners of Rangers would operate in the best interests of the club, its fans and Scottish football in general.

“We have reached agreement on all terms and conditions attached to the transfer of membership and are able to grant conditional membership, ahead of the formal transfer of the SPL share a week today. This will allow the season to kick-off as planned this weekend and I am sure there will be many who will join me in welcoming the start of the new football season in Scotland.”

In most circumstances the charges against Green would result in the resignation of those involved in granting membership, it’s unlikely that any action will be taken by the SFA.

Should Mr Green be found guilty it’s likely that Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park would be transferred from Sevco to BDO who are attempting to recover as much money as possible for the hundreds of creditors including Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and a number of public bodies.

Updates from the High Court in Edinburgh provided by James Doleman