TYCOON IN £5M LEGAL FIGHT OVER PPE SCAM

EX-KILLIE JERSEY SPONSOR TOLD HE WOULD SEAL £2.4BN DEAL

Norman Silvester A wealthy rail tycoon fell victim to a multi- billion dollar PPE scam involving the US government.

Alan McLeish lost £5million in a business scheme which he was told would lead to a $ 2.4billion deal during the height of the pandemic.

Bogside Investments Ltd – a company control led solely by McLeish – is now seeking damages in a Scottish court to recap his losses.

The action in the Court of Session being taken against a Christopher Shute and a Graeme Paterson who are named as the defenders on the court document.

McLeish, 63, is a founder and former owner of railway maintenance specialists QTS which he sold for £ 80million in 2018.

The firm, based in Strathaven, Lanarkshire, was a jersey sponsor for Kilmarnock for 10 years while his family have invested in Rangers.

McLeish was told a firm called Obree Global was due £1.9 billion ($ 2.4 billion) from the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the US government,

But the money was apparently being held in a frozen account by a New York law firm.

McLeish claims he was duped by Shute and Paterson into lending almost £ 5.5million ($7.5 million) – through Bogside Investments – to secure the release of the $2.4billion. The necessary funds were then paid in two lots by McLeish, £ 400,000 in January 29, 2021 and £5,074,000, 12 days later, on February 10.

McLeish claims both Shute and Paterson pressurised him at the time to release the loan funds – claiming that another investor was interested,

They also said he would double his money in a matter of weeks if he transferred the money on time.

But in May 2021, McLeish discovered that the New York law firm knew nothing of the transaction and had never held the $2.4billion.

Detai ls have now been revealed for the f irst time during a hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.

Though McLeish managed to get back some of his investment, the court was told that he was still owed around £5million.

At the Court of Session hearing, Shute’s lawyer strenuously denied he was party to any fraud , claiming he wa s a lso duped. McLeish had f irst met Shute and Paterson in January 2021.

He was told they had a “sig