Sheriff Lindsay Wood, who issued 22 warrants for failed investigations into the liquidation of Rangers was a shareholder in the defunct club according to a report in The Times.
It seems that after more than a decade of success mainly through tax scams and disguised remuneration schemes fans of the club were desperate to look outside of Scotland to find others to blame for going into administration followed by the liquidation process beginning in 2012. Liquidation has still to be concluded with 276 creditors waiting on reports and a pennies in the pound pay off.
Various figures involved in the administration have been questioned before charges have been dropped without any real proof of wrong doing.
Dave Murray, who was majority shareholder in the club from 1988 to 2011 when he accepted a pound coin from Craig Whyte seems to have avoided all scrutiny for his role in the demise, downfall and death of what he described as the second most important institution in Scotland.
The Times reports:
A sheriff who granted more than 20 warrants during the failed police investigation into the takeover of Rangers FC has been accused of a “glaring judicial conflict of interest” after it emerged he was a shareholder in the club.
Last week The Times disclosed that Lindsay Wood is the subject of an official complaint relating to his close links to the Scottish champions.
Wood regularly attends Rangers matches and social events and was said to have a framed photograph of Ibrox in his chambers.
It has now come to light that he held shares in Rangers’ old parent company, which became worthless when the club went into administration in 2012. Records from 2008 confirm Wood owned 110 shares.
Following the collapse of Rangers, David Grier, David Whitehouse and Paul Clark, of the consultancy firm Duff & Phelps, were appointed to manage the club’s affairs.
All three were later arrested over allegations of fraud linked to the collapse and sale of Rangers. They were cleared of all charges but many of the club’s supporters believe they failed to do enough to prevent its demise.
The saga has already triggered a public inquiry and cost the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds in payments to individuals who were prosecuted maliciously.
Between 2013 and 2015 Wood signed off 22 warrants during the botched investigation. They included one which allowed officers to raid the London offices of Holman Fenwick Willan, the legal firm representing Duff & Phelps, which was later found to be unlawful and executed “without proper safeguards”.
It was requested by Detective Chief Inspector Jim Robertson, the senior investigating officer, who is said to have worn Rangers cufflinks while conducting interviews.
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative spokesman on community safety, called on Lord Carloway, the lord justice general, to establish why Wood failed to recuse himself.
“This represents a glaring judicial conflict of interest in the Rangers malicious prosecution scandal,” he said. “It seems there was a perfect storm of a Rangers-supporting police officer, a Rangers-supporting sheriff and Crown Office prosecutors who pursued innocent men with reckless disregard for the evidence, leaving taxpayers with a bill for tens of millions of pounds and no one being held to account.
“A register of judicial recusals was introduced in Scotland seven years ago for circumstances such as these, and I would expect Lord Carloway to establish why there was no voluntary recusal by Sheriff Wood.”
Grier, who has lodged a complaint with the Judicial Office for Scotland, added: “Sheriff Wood’s connections to Rangers are overwhelming and it was entirely inappropriate for him to be involved.”
Ten years ago on Monday the club went into administration, suffered a 10 point loss then played their last ever game in May 2012 before joining Third Lanark, Airdrie and Gretna in the Scottish football mortuary.
Why is this a surprise? Everyone knew. If the masons could have helped them they would, they have been swept under the lodge carpets at the sfa. And Scottish league. It’s time this case was brought into the public eye .
“Rangers old parent company”???
See it’s not just in the sports section that these arseholes try and rewrite reality!
RANGERS FC’S PARENT COMPANY WAS RANGERS FC. THERE WAS NO SEPARATION OF ENTITIES, RANGERS DIED, END OF. NO AMOUNT OF PATHETIC ATTEMPTS AT SOPHISTRY AND OBSFUCATION WILL CHANGE THAT FACT YOU DUMB, DESPERATE CLOWNS. PLEASE STOP EMBARRASSING YOURSELVES WITH THIS PISH.
If They keep telling the same lie eventually they believe it’s the truth
Exactly. Club and company became a single entity after incorporation in 1899, and that entity died after liquidation in 2012.
What is left is a different entity regardless of what you call it.
Put simply, Rangers died in 2012.
Sounds like they appointed the keystone cops to do the investigating. All wearing brown clown brogues of course.
I wonder how this situation will be resolved ? more of the same, I should imagine.
1872 filth are dead,cheating corrupt tax avoiding scum ,everyone knows S= SEVCO FA.
This whole $hit show regarding bent police Scotland bent judges Scotland has cost around £35/40 million all coming out of public funds and media keeping quite about the police inspector and his side kick who really should have been sacked both of them I think the got promotions you really could not make this $hit show up.
Plus the blue nose judge and the Scottish Goverement doing #uck all about this corruption and all this great pretenders the rangers 2012 the same club as the Bankrupt club rangers fc only in backward Scotland and Sky , BBBC Scotland,and some media plying the same lie and at the same time all the creditors have all been #ucked by rangers fc pre 2012 the whole shambles looks like a massive fraud committed by rangers fc/ the rangers 2012.
The celtic board still believe..
Time we reminded them. Plus the Media. Plus Sevco.
Any time anyone utters The Same Club Lie(sic), not a Myth, we should be bombarding them with thousands of letters.
We should also be writing to Company’s House any time Sevco come out with the same club crap. It is a lie and every time they parrot this fabrication they are committing a crime.
For starters they are defrauding their own supporters, however willing they are (Gullible) every time they send the letters out for the Season Books. They are obtaining money by deception.
Every time they trade on the oldco’s name in financial agreements with sponsors, advertisers etc ditto, obtaining money by deception.
As long as one of us is left standing they will always be SEVCO.
This is Scotland shame and its cost us every year old duffers got powerful positions through there school tie and handshake wich run Scotland when these people take an oath should be made to drop all oaths they have taken they should not have two oaths please people of Scotland don’t be fooled these people only have the Mason oath it’s allowed you to get off prosecution these people have to have there background looked at and if member of secret society must be investigated law Lords in this country are infested with it