A company closely linked to Craig Whyte has staked it’s claim to be the secured creditor of Rangers (IL) which currently holds £18m.
Rangers FC Group were at the Court of Session yesterday stating the legitimacy of their claim over the floating charge which secured the assets- mainly Ibrox Stadium and the state of the art Murray Park Training Academy.
The Rangers FC Group were previously known as Wavetower the company that formally handed Dave Murray £1 for the 138-year-old debt ridden tax dodging institution in May 2011. Thirteen months later Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs put the club into liquidation.
While BDO have been attempting to piece together the complex corporate structure, identify the assets and pick up the trail of debt the elephant in the room has always been the involvement of the former billionaire from Motherwell.
Despite being portrayed in public as a badly dressed stuttering fool Mr Whyte’s background suggests a character that knows how to operate as close to the law as possible as he gets his hands on the remaining assets of distressed companies.
While the Ticketus deal, the company that funded paying off the £18m debt to Lloyds TSB, is highlighted against Mr Whyte, Rangers FC Group claim to have bought the floating charge from the banking group giving them first claim on the club assets.
Having spent six months negotiating with Murray ahead of ‘duping’ the Edinburgh based businessman into accepting his £1 it’s highly unlikely that Mr Whyte will be the fall guy as the complex case of Wavetower, Law Financial, Worthington, Sevco 5088 and Sevco Scotland unravels.
The claim for the assets by the Rangers Group has previously been recorded but downplayed by BDO but yesterday’s hearing confirmed the legitimacy of their claim.
A Scottish Courts spokesman said: “The case has been sisted until the end of the criminal proceedings.”
The Ibrox Fraud Case, which involves Whyte and Charles Green, resumes next month but the claim by Rangers FC Group casts a shadow over the proceedings.
Should the Sevco assets purchase for £5.5m be found to be fraudulent, and the £20m IPO illegal it was assumed that the assets would then belong to liquidators BDO.
If Rangers FC Group has a floating charge over the assets the hard work by BDO would lead to the Rangers FC Group moving in front of HMRC and over 200 other creditors for a payout.