Jailed, Russian who snapped up Whyte’s castle
A RUSSIAN tycoon who bought former Rangers owner Craig Whyte’s Highland castle has been jailed over a £4million fraud.
Sergey Fedotov, who paid £1million for Castle Grant, embezzled the huge sum while head of the Russian Authors’ Society (RAO).
The 40-year-old was arrested in Moscow last year and has been in custody since. He bought the 16th century A-listed property in 2014 after it was repossessed from Mr Whyte.
At a hearing in Moscow yesterday, Fedotov admitted to the fraud and was jailed for 18 months.
Prosecutors said he deliberately misled the board of the RAO, which collects royalties for writers, encouraging them to transfer property to a private company.
The company then sold the property to third parties, leaving the RAO out of pocket to the sum of 300million rubles – £4million.
Russian police began an investigation into Fedotov in 2015 after concerns were raised about where he got the funds to buy the castle in Speyside and properties in England.
During a preliminary hearing, Fedotov insisted Castle Grant was bought lawfully and said the purchase was modest.
He said: ‘That castle in Scotland I have, I acknowledge. But this property is irrelevant.
‘At the time of purchase it cost 50million rubles. The cost corresponds to the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in the centre of Moscow.’
Following his sentencing, Fedotov told Russian media he had already repaid some of the damages and was considering an appeal against his sentence.
He said: ‘I’ve repaid 160million rubles out of more than 300million rubles. But in order to make these payments, I need to work, something I haven’t recently been able to do.’
Fedotov was denied bail over fears he might have fled to the UK. His office and Moscow home were searched by police before he was brought in for questioning.
Fedotov bought Castle Grant, near Grantown-on-Spey in Moray, in September 2014, after it was repossessed by the Bank of Scotland.
He told estate agents that he planned to refurbish the property after it fell into disrepair during Mr Whyte’s ownership.
Mr Whyte bought it for £720,000 in 2006 but fell into arrears with the £7,000-a-month mortgage.
The Bank of Scotland took legal action to recover it after his reign at Rangers ended.
He has been made bankrupt and this month was cleared of charges related to his takeover of the Ibrox club.