SALMOND IN NEW CROWD CA R
A convinced fraudster is helping bankroll Alex Salmond’s legal battle against sexual harassment claims. Jamie Rae, 53, has given £1000 to the former first minister’s controversial online crowd funder campaign to challenge the Scottish Government’s investigation into
allegations alleg made by two women. Multimillionaire millio Rae served time in jail for benefits and mortgage fraud in 1997.
He was an SNP councillor in Falkirk when charged char with a series of scams involving more than £167,000.
TheTh businessman resigned from the party and was sentenced to 15 months in jail but was welcomed back into the SNP in 1998.
He then set up recycling firm Redeem who expanded expa into several countries.
RaeRa said: “If you want to write that Jamie Rae went to jail for mortgage fraud then that’s that’ fine – but you should also say that he had a successful business and did a lot for charity char and helped a lot of people.”
He added: “I supported the crowd funder because beca I think there needs to be clarity around arou what the judicial review is for.”
SalmondSa helped launch Rae’s Far East recycling recy operation during a visit to Hong Kong and China in 2009, before the firm were bought boug out in 2011. In 2014, the party were accused accu of cronyism after an IT firm who Rae had joined as a dirdirector months beforehand befo were given a £2million NHS contract.
MinistersMi gave NHS senior managers man £2.22.2million on the ccondition that it wawas spent on Lanarkshire-based Lana Nugensis’s Nug software.
TheTh Sunday Mail Ma can reveal Rae e resigned from Nugensis earlier this year.ar yea They were given £65,013 by Scottish Enterprisete Ent during his time on the board. Scottish Conservative MP Colin Clark, who unseated Salmond in the Gordon
constituency in 2017, said: “Mr Salmond
already takes money from a Russian
propaganda channel. Now he has taken cash from someone in his own party with a fraud conviction.” The accusations against Salmond are alleged to have taken place at Bute House in Edinburgh after a boozy function. Salmond has described the allegations as “patently ridiculous” and begun legal proceedings to have the process used to investigate him by the Scottish Government judicially reviewed. The claims are also being examined by
police. The former First Minister was heavily criticised last week for thanking donors to his campaign, even though some attacked his alleged victims. We reported last week how several donors left taunting messages such as, “Kick their lying butts Alex”. Another appeared to take aim at the alleged victims, stating: “We don’t believe the lies.”
Salmond S declined to comment.