Martin Bains' Legal Papers

[GovanAllan 0]

You could make a film out of all this carry on really starting to get hard to follow reading the game of thrones book 4 at the moment our game of thrones makes that one look like a Sunday picnic.

[Guest Dutchy]

Wish I could afford a lawyer!

[GovanAllan 0]

Wish I could afford a lawyer!

 

For 35,000 I would expect to get off with murder.

[Guest Dutchy]

For 35,000 I would expect to get off with murder.

 

That commet is just killing me, lol.

[ian1964 10,626]

The latest chapter of speculation concerning the financial outlook at Rangers formed the backdrop to the Scottish Premier League leaders' latest win.

 

Leaked legal papers, prepared for the case of the former Rangers chief executive Martin Bain's claim for unfair dismissal from Ibrox, asked questions over Rangers' level of solvency. Bain is seeking £1.3 million from his former employers after initially being suspended in May, shortlyafter Craig Whyte assumed control of Rangers from Sir David Murray.

 

The prospect of defeat in a tax tribunal – which relates to historic employee benefit trust payments – is central to those insolvency claims. The documentation in question appeared on the internet yesterday morning, with no confirmation available regarding initial suggestions that it had been stolen.

Rangers reacted with understandable disgust to such information entering the public domain. Immediately after their win in Dundee, the club issued a statement saying the club was committed to dealing with these historic issues that were a legacy of the previous regime.

 

The statement said: "The ludicrous coverage over the last couple of days regarding the payment of a minor sum of money to a lawyer and now this latest, and illegal, leak of court papers indicates a whispering campaign by people determined to damage the club. They will not deter us from the difficult task that lies ahead."

 

The Rangers playing staff cannot be accused of having their focus shifted by such potential distractions.

 

Meetings between Dundee Unitedand Rangers tend to be entertaining and this one was no different, but few could deny that Rangers deserved their victory.

 

The hosts saw their hopes of an upset undone by a moment of madness from Johnny Russell, the young striker sent off for seeking to headbutt Kirk Broadfoot after half an hour. Russell earned no sympathy from his manager, Peter Houston, who said he will fine the Scotland Under-21 international.

 

Rangers still had to scrap for their success. Kyle Lafferty claimed the decisive goal with a header after 61 minutes from Gregg Wylde's fine pass. A combination of excellent goalkeeping and poor fortune stopped Rangers from building on that lead, Steven Davis denied on both counts.

 

Ally McCoist is confident of having Nikica Jelavic, who missed this victory with injury, available for next weekend's Old Firm derby at Ibrox.

 

Dundee United (4-4-2): Pernis; Dixon, Kenneth, Gunning, Watson; Flood, Robertson, Rankin, Swanson; Russell, Dalla Valle (Dow 71).

 

Rangers (4-4-2): McGregor; Broadfoot, Goian, Bocanegra, Whittaker; Ortiz, Edu (McCulloch 75), Davis, Wylde (McKay 83); Naismith, Lafferty.

 

Referee Calum Murray.

 

Man of the match Lafferty (Rangers)

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/lafferty-helps-rangers-keep-their-focus-2352769.html

[der Berliner 3,568]

Could the real reason they didn't want the Whyte takeover to go through is to cover their own arses about the state we are in and any underhand dealings.

 

See, I just asked something similar on FF. Had the Take Over not happened, who would have found out about the 2.8m HMRC bill? Some clever chap in the future who would have been told to shut up? Or HMRC once they start dealing with the big one? This all sheds some "interesting" light on Bain's job at Ibrox and I would assume that Whyte accused him of a HMRC 2.8m bill cover-up before "suspending" him. If that is the case, Bain shows more audacity here than he did against UEFA.

Edited September 11, 2011 by der Berliner

[pete 2,499]

Rangers' fury after Martin Bain bombshell heaps pressure on owner Craig Whyte

 

Sep 11 2011 Russell Findlay, Sunday Mail

 

 

AXED Rangers chief executive Martin Bain fears the Ibrox club could be sunk by a massive tax bill, leaked legal papers revealed yesterday.

 

Bain - who quit after being suspended in the wake of Craig Whyte's takeover - is suing the Ibrox club for £1.4million.

 

Papers drawn up by his lawyers reveal he fears their tax bill could be £49million including interest. A 14-page document appeared on the internet yesterday.

 

It details his legal teamâ??s fears about Rangersâ?? finances.

 

The lawyers confirmed it was real, although not up to date, and had been lodged with the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

 

Bainâ??s lawyers called in police yesterday to find the source of the leak as Rangers dismissed speculation about their financial situation as â??ludicrousâ? and part of a smear campaign by critics.

 

Bainâ??s lawyer stated that if HMRC are successful, Rangers would be unable to pay and suggested that any demand over £15million would put the clubâ??s future in jeopardy.

 

His lawyers also request that the courts deal with his action more speedily than usual because they fear Rangers may not be able to pay out.

 

The document stated: â??In addition to the liabilities shown in the balance sheet, the club are facing a claim for unpaid tax to HMRC of about £35million together with £14million of interest and penalties, constituting a total claimed liability of about £49million.

 

â??The relevant tax tribunal is due to complete consideration of the defenderâ??s appeal against the assessment in November 2011.

 

â??In the event that HMRC are successful, in whole or in substantial part, the defender will not be able to pay its liability. It will go into insolvency.â?

 

The document also questions whether pledges about financing made by new owner Whyte have been fully honoured.

 

Another claim is that season ticket cash has been â??mortgagedâ? to ringfence the revenue from HMRC.

 

The leaked document is a draft summons written by lawyer Alfred Tyler of Edinburgh firm Balfour & Manson and includes handwritten marks.

 

It set out that Bain is suing for two separate sums â?? one of more than £1.3million and another of almost £60,000.

 

The document accused the club of not having paid bills, although it was written before they settled a £35,000 debt with lawyers Levy & McRae on Friday.

 

Mr Tylerâ??s colleague Peter Watson, head of litigation at Levy & McRae, said the papers were real, scotching rumours they were fake.

 

He added: â??This matter has been reported to Lothian and Borders police by Balfour & Manson.

 

â??The document in question does not reflect the current state of the case.

 

â??It has been stolen or otherwise illegally obtained because the only people who get that document are the defenders and the court. It is not in the public domain until it is spoken to in court.

 

â??This is a court document and was lodged in court at an early stage. It does not currently represent the pleadings in the case because it has been changed materially since it went into court.

 

â??Even if it has been leaked by someone who is entitled to see it, they are still committing a crime.â?

 

Bain was suspended following the takeover of the club in June and left later that month. He and other directors had voiced fears about the takeover.

 

He is being sued by Rangers in a counter claim which states he drew an â??excessiveâ? amount of cash from them.

 

The new document appeared on website rangerstaxcase.com, which has reported claims about the HMRC case relating to the payment of players through a trust dating back to 2001.

 

The papers set out Bainâ??s most recent salary as £610,800 plus hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of bonuses. They state that Bain, 44, who joined Rangers as commercial manager in 1996, was informed of the reasons for his suspension by letter in May 2011.

 

According to his lawyers, there was no suggestion of guilt or misconduct at that point. They also cited media interviews given by Whyte in which he allegedly said there was no way back for Bain, who had been an Ibrox director since 2000.

 

According to his lawyers, Rangers were in breach of contract.

 

A spokesman for Rangers last night said: â??The problems Rangers Football Club is now having to deal with are historic and the chairman is committed to resolving the issues that are a direct and unwanted legacy of the previous regime.

 

â??The ludicrous coverage over the last couple of days regarding the payment of a minor sum of money to a lawyer and now this latest, and illegal, leak of court papers indicates a whispering campaign by people determined to damage the club. They will not deter us from the difficult task that lies ahead.â?

 

The papers are having a field day but he who laughs last keeps entering my head.

[rbr 1,254]

I say this again , this Peter Watson who is a partner at the law firm is also a Director of Media House our PR company , this could and should have been sorted out way before the media got hold of it , infact I am told it was and the Herald as I previously posted was told the bill was going to be paid the next day , the only arguement was about certain expenses , why the Herald chose to ignore this is a matter of personal choice and certain journalists at the Herald/Times group were openly questioning their editorial staff .......

 

 

Murray is still involved in this , Jack Irvine is one of Murray's closest friends and also he is very protective of Bain ,he is still"baw deep" in this mess

[chilledbear 16]

It looks as if Murray and friends are beginning to panic, for the first time in the media his reign at Rangers is coming under scrutiny.

 

Even Speirs is questioning the state he has left Rangers Financial Affairs.

[ian1964 10,626]

Graham Spiers (the discredited journalist)

September 12 2011 12:01AM

 

Rangers are in their worst state in decades. Arguably, not since the dreadful Ibrox disaster of January 1971 has such a pall hung over the club. Mercifully, this current disaster involves no loss of life, though the very existence of Rangers FC itself is now under threat.

 

The past 48 hours have thrown up further, damaging claims about the club’s fragile future. There is no doubt that the leaked legal papers on the internet, pertaining to Martin Bain’s unfair dismissal claim against the club, are genuine, and they have only spread further fear and anxiety about Rangers’ stability.

 

In short, Bain, the club’s former chief executive, who was sacked by Craig Whyte in May, believes the club has a very unsafe future. In fact, Bain believes Rangers face insolvency, could go under, or at the very least could go into administration, which is one reason why the former Ibrox CEO is in quite a hurry to get his £1.3 million claim for damages into the courts.

 

There is little point speculating here on what would happen to Rangers in the event of one of those dire scenarios coming to pass. Few believe, in truth, that such a meltdown would mean the end of Rangers FC. The club is such a huge institution in Scotland, and such a social phenomenon, that rescue would almost inevitably spring from somewhere.

 

But that wouldn’t happen before much anxiety, and even greater humiliation, at Ibrox.

 

If Rangers lose the HMRC tax case then the club could face a bill — upwards of £50 million — which it would have no hope of being able to pay. It would then become a matter of Craig Whyte, being among a list of Rangers creditors, being seen to work out how to salvage the club’s reputation.

 

Whyte remains an elusive figure, quite impossible to second-guess. There remains no clear, convincing theory over his Rangers tactics, despite many being aired on the subject. There was some euphoria among certain groups of Rangers fans when Whyte took over Sir David Murray’s majority stake back in May, though other Rangers supporters, with good reason, remained circumspect.

 

Some severely doubt Whyte’s ability to “deliver a strategy” for Rangers, and I have been listed among those sceptics from day one. There have been too many botches and too much suspicion around Whyte’s stewardship of Rangers so far for observers to feel any sense of calm. It is nothing to do with Whyte’s integrity. It is all to do with his ability to restore the club.

 

One other man who may be feeling acute discomfort over the fate of Rangers is Murray himself. Indeed, if any guilt is to be apportioned over the current, dire mess of the club, Murray has the dubious distinction of standing at the front of the queue.

 

It was on Murray’s hands-on watch that Rangers embarked on their use of employee benefit trusts, an offshore means of paying players which, it was hoped, would bypass taxes. The Murray Group, while other football clubs chose not to use the system, eagerly embraced it as a tax-saving scheme.

 

If this HMRC case does find against Rangers in the months ahead, and if the amount to be paid back does run to tens of millions, then Murray will be the most morally culpable of all. Indeed, having sold Rangers to Whyte for a token £1, there would be a moral case for Murray taking up most of the HMRC slack.

 

Whyte is in the clear in this crucial aspect. The greatest threat posed to Rangers in the club’s 139-year existence is none of his doing. Instead, he has chosen to inherit the mess, and is being tasked with clearing it up. The real anger, if and where it is being felt among Rangers supporters, need not be cast in his direction.

 

Recent events have only helped to fuel a persecution complex among a number of Rangers fans. After all the controversies over bigoted chanting, and the Scottish parliament currently trying to put anti-sectarianism legislation in place, there are a number of Ibrox fans who now believe the world is against them.

 

I have read recently the allegation, being seriously made by one Rangers author, that HMRC is actually “against” the club, ie, is “anti-Rangers”. If this sounds quite absurd to most of us, then it is merely a sign of what we have arrived at.

 

Rangers are in dire danger, and the club is bleeding on every side. Craig Whyte somehow needs to pull off a salvage job, the like of which he can hardly have known before.