Some shareholders in Rangers FC ‘linked to organised crime’
Rangers FC chairman Dave King has told a court he fears there are shareholders in the club who have links to organised crime.
The businessman made the revelation during a hearing into whether he wilfully breached a legal order which compelled him into make an offer to buy remaining shares in the side.
He told the Court of Session yesterday he was “100 per cent committed” offering to buy the equity of people who want a part of Rangers.
Buthetoldhislawyerjonathan Mitchell QC he wouldn’t be able to make the offer to four shareholders at the club because they had links to serious criminal activity.
He said that he participated in a Rangers board meeting last Monday which concluded with the directors stating the four shareholders couldn’t transfer their stakes in any sale.
Speaking about one of the shareholders with suspected links, Mr King added: “They were engaged in criminal activities in the USA. There was an intervention from the authorities there and they were put in administration.”
The South African resident was giving evidence on the second day of proceedings at Scotland’s highest civil court. Financial watchdogs, the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers, have taken Mr King to court because it believes he has deliberately flouted a December 2017 judgement which required him to make a multi-million pound offer to buy remaining shares in the club. That order was made after the panel’s lawyers argued Mr King didn’t comply with the terms of the 2006 Companies Act. Legislation states that entrepreneurs who hold a 30 per cent stake in businesses are compelled to make an offer to buy remaining shares. The panel’s legal team argued Mr King was the majority shareholder in Rangers and he should make an offer. The panel want him to be declared in contempt of court. The panel’s legal action arose from the actions of Mr King and the so called “three bears” - businessmen George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park - during their takeover in Rangers in late 2014.
Investigators for the panel concluded the men acted in concert with each other to acquire a 30 per cent share in Rangers. The money for the buy out came from offshore trusts which were in the name of Mr King’s family. Lawyers acting for Mr King said the cash came from his family’s trusts and he didn’t have any control over these trusts. The hearing continues. Mr King denies being in contempt of court.
newdeskts@scotsman.com