Exclusive: Whyte talks to STV at 6pm

[pete 2,499]

Lucky me over here in Germany. Won't be able to see either "show".

 

Sometimes you wonder whether ManU fans are equally trouble by their club's ownership and debts ...

 

A cheap 80cm satellite dish and tuner will open up all BBC, ITV and a host of other British programmes for you. All are free to air.

[pete 2,499]

I have got the STV news am I missing something?

[Bears 0]

I get the feeling that tonights hatchet job on CW will use the words,â?Itâ??s been allegedâ? a hell of a lot rather than,â?We have proof that CW........â?

 

Just a hunch likes

[craig 5,199]

This sounds like its going to a simple character assassination. Anyone who has been in the venture capital business like Whyte is bound to have made a lot of enemies. But why is this in the public interest.

 

Because it paints Rangers in a bad light....

 

It is much more in the public interest that, say, an official Celtic-sanctioned group (Green Brigade) using convicted terrorists to make banners for them, IIRC that is what happened across the city...

[stewarty 2,060]

Nothing in that part of the interview that hasn't previously been said.

[metlika 0]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-15377454

 

Hmmm

[Bears 0]

Just read this pish on the BBC

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-15377454

 

So fucking what? I work for one of the Worlds biggest oil companies and we have law suits flying about all over the place. At the end of the day when you re at the level CW is at he will have cut corners, taken advantage of tax loop holes, shafted people, broke some laws that are wafer think laws>

 

They ALL do it.

 

He is still a very successful businessman and has brains, and never ever forget he;s one of us, something SDM wasn’t.

 

Look at it this way, he not robbed a bank or snatched a Grannies bag.

 

Do NOT worry about this shit lads and lasses, it’s news of the world type journalism by the BBC

[forlanssister 3,114]

Nothing in that part of the interview that hasn't previously been said.

 

Hope the second half is more fruitful because that was pretty pointless.

[stewarty 2,060]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-15377454

 

 

Evidence of alleged criminality in the past business dealings of Rangers FC's new owner has been uncovered by a BBC Scotland investigation.

It found that Craig Whyte was banned from being a director for seven years.

The BBC heard allegations that Mr Whyte controlled a company despite his ban, an offence which could incur a two-year jail term. It was later wound up after misleading potential shareholders.

Mr Whyte denied all the claims "in the strongest possible terms".

The 40-year-old businessman from Motherwell owns an 85% stake in Rangers.

Mr Whyte paid Sir David Murray £1 for the Glasgow club six months ago, and settled its £18m debt to Lloyds Banking Group.

Rangers: An Inside Story, which will be broadcast on BBC1 Scotland at 19:00, heard allegations about the man who took over the 138-year-old club in May.

The BBC understands Mr Whyte was banned from acting as a director after the government began pursuing his company, Vital Holdings Ltd, for failing to produce satisfactory accounts.

The programme also uncovered evidence that HM Revenue and Customs was chasing some of Mr Whyte's companies for unpaid taxes.

Continue reading the main story TV DOCUMENTARY

 

Rangers: The Inside Story will be broadcast on BBC1 Scotland on Thursday 20 October at 19:00

 

The programme heard claims about Mr Whyte's involvement in a company called Re-tex Plastic Technology, during his ban.

Re-tex was wound up in 2003, after it offered to sell shares to the public using company statements which were said to contain false and misleading information.

The firm was investigated by the UK government's Insolvency Service - the agency that probes corrupt business practice.

Robert Burns, head of investigations at the agency, said: "We took the view that the company was being controlled, or certainly had the involvement of, an individual who was disqualified. That raised concerns."

'Be prosecuted' When asked who that individual was, he said: "I'm talking about Craig Whyte, who had been disqualified as a director in June 2000, for seven years.

"We found a number of suggestions, and indeed evidence, that he was in some way, shape or form, behind the company. For example he was signatory to the bank account, he was giving instructions to certain payments.

Current Scottish champions Rangers have a 140-year history

"In relation to his involvement in running the company then it is an offence and the individual can be prosecuted. Clearly there would have had to be a criminal investigation and a trial."

Responding to the claims, Mr Whyte's lawyers said he had a small investment in Re-tex, but was never a director or a de facto director.

Mr Burns told the BBC that his team had uncovered evidence that Mr Whyte had taken two sums of £100,000 from the company, apparently to pay a tax bill.

"There's no trace of the money being received by the Inland Revenue," Mr Burns said.

He told the programme that Mr Whyte had appointed fake auditors called Mullet and Co, which signed off misleading Re-tex accounts.

Mr Whyte's lawyers said their client had no control over Re-tex's bank account or finances and denied "in the strongest possible terms" withdrawing any money from the company accounts or appointing any auditors.

'Outsourcing services' The Insolvency Service believes a convicted fraudster, Kevin Sykes, was one of the individuals behind Mullet and Co.

Mr Burns said: "We have investigated a number of companies which Kevin Sykes has been behind.

"We also know Mr Sykes because of a Serious Fraud Office investigation. In October 2004, he was convicted and received a sentence in total of eight years for his part in a theft from a pension fund which totalled £3m."

Mr Whyte lived in Monaco for several years

This conviction came three years after Sykes' last known involvement with Craig Whyte.

The documentary reveals other previous links between Mr Whyte and Sykes, with the latter acting as secretary in four of Mr Whyte's companies which were dissolved in the late 1990s.

Mr Whyte moved to Monaco for several years around 2000, following his disqualification and the demise of 24 companies in which he was involved.

In March 2001, Sykes told his bankruptcy hearing at the High Court in London that he travelled to Monaco to be paid in cash by Mr Whyte for "outsourcing services".

Mr Whyte's lawyers said its client had never been a close business associate of Kevin Sykes, and denied paying him a retainer.

Rangers' finances have hit the headlines in recent months, after a judge ruled more than £3m of its assets should be frozen, pending further court action.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh heard that a disputed tax bill of up to £49m left the SPL champions at a "real and substantial risk of insolvency". The tax hearing is due to begin next month.

The documentary comes just days after Rangers announced it was withdrawing all co-operation with the BBC.

In a statement, Craig Whyte and Rangers FC said: "As a result of the BBC's approach, Mr Whyte and Rangers FC believe there is a strong risk that the programme will mislead and misinform viewers about matters concerning the club, and has suspended the BBC's access to the club.

"Mr Whyte and Rangers wish to reassure viewers - and those of the club's valued fans who may be watching - that the best interests and secure future of the club are and will remain their priority."

[stewarty 2,060]

Some very serious allegations in there. None of which were mentioned by Whyte other than saying, along the lines of "some of it will be unflattering".