Charges against Gary Withey, David Grier, David Whitehouse and Paul Clark have been dropped leaving Craig Whyte as the only person facing fraud charges relating to the liquidation of Rangers Football Club.
The news emerged from the High Court in Glasgow this morning, earlier in the case charges against Charles Green and Imran Ahmad were also dropped.
According to the report on the BBC website: “Mr Whyte has yet to enter a plea to the charges against him. The case was continued for a further hearing. Mr Whyte was the only person in the dock, flanked by two security guards.
Advocate depute Bill McVicar revealed that charges have been dropped against Gary Withey, 51, David Grier, 55, David Whitehouse, 51, and Paul Clark, 51, saying: “There will be no further proceedings.”
In relation to Charles Green, 63, and Imran Ahmad, 46, proceedings have been dropped in relation to the indictment involving Mr Whyte.
Mr McVicar said that Crown counsel are considering the position in relation to Mr Green and added: “I think it’s fair to say any proceedings relating to Mr Green would be dealt with separately.
“Any proceedings against Mr Ahmad would be dealt with, with Mr Green.”
Judge Lord Bannatyne said: “You are saying the only person left in the dock is Mr Whyte and I can proceed towards a trial.”
Mr Whyte, who has not entered any plea as yet to the charges against him, sacked his senior counsel Tony Graham.
His junior counsel Allan MacLeod is still instructed and asked for the case to be continued for a further preliminary hearing in July.
The court heard that the Crown intend to revise the charges against Mr Whyte.
After the charges were dropped Whitehouse and Clark, from Duff and Phelps issued a statement saying: “For reasons that were never made clear to the administrators, the Crown decided to bring criminal charges against them in late 2014.
“On Friday November 14, 2014, both Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark were arrested, held in a police station for the weekend, and taken to court.
“This process was repeated in September 2015. From the outset, both Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark have emphatically denied all allegations of criminal conduct against them.
“With the assistance of their lawyers, they have consistently argued that the Crown’s charges against them were entirely without foundation. At a hearing in February 2016, the Crown finally accepted the defence position in relation to the majority of the charges brought against the administrators.
“The remaining two charges were then dismissed by the court. Since then, the defence has repeatedly asked the Crown to confirm that the case against David Whitehouse and Paul Clark is at an end.
“That has at last been confirmed. This brings the proceedings against David Whitehouse and Paul Clark to an end. They are no longer the subject of any investigations or allegations.
“David Whitehouse and Paul Clark are relieved at the outcome. They are grateful to their families, friends, colleagues and legal teams for their support during a very difficult period.”
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