‘More denials, more excuses, more delays, more scandal’
Executive wrongly accused in Ibrox fraud scandal reveals Crown disclosed vital files two years late
An insolvency expert wrongfully prosecuted during a disastrous fraud probe into the takeover of Rangers claims he has only just been given crucial documents by the Crown Office that should have been handed over two years ago.
David Whitehouse was among the executives arrested and charged during an inquiry that has been branded ill-conceived and ineptly handled. It is now expected to cost the Crown Office £100 million in costs and compensation to the executives and companies wrongly accused. A promised public inquiry will add millions more.
Arrested and charged as part of the investigation into the deal to buy Rangers out of administration 10 years ago, Whitehouse, who was among those to receive seven-figure payments, says he has just been given documents that should been handed over by the Crown years ago.
He says the late disclosure of documents – blamed on “human error” – only fuels concern around the Crown’s continuing handling of the case and is demanding the inquiry into the scandal begins urgently.
He started legal action to restore his reputation six years ago and the Crown eventually admitted Whitehouse and colleague Paul Clark were maliciously prosecuted. Another colleague, David Grier, is appealing a judgment that there was no malice in his wrongful prosecution.
The firm they worked for, Kroll, which was previously known as Duff & Phelps and handled the Glasgow club’s affairs after it went into administration, was last month awarded £15m for reputational damage in an out-of-court settlement.
Whitehouse said: “Only last week, following the conclusion of the Kroll litigation, did the Crown disclose highly important documents to me which should have been disclosed over two years ago. The Crown allege this was due to human error. Are we really supposed to believe
that, given their conduct to date, two weeks after a settlement is concluded they stumble upon documents key to litigation which has been running for six years?”
Whitehouse also criticised the Crown for the way it handled the Kroll case. He said: “Throughout this sorry passage the Crown’s pleadings have been challenged by my legal team as lacking in candour.
“Most recently the Crown denied on record any liability to Kroll but happily settled that action by paying £15m in damages. Why? There is only one inescapable conclusion, they were liable and they knew they were liable but refused to admit liability on record. Had such an admission been made two years earlier, the settlement would have been significantly less.
“What the Crown should have done six years ago is to admit wrongdoing and offer a public apology to me, coupled with a denial of liability for damages as a result of statutory immunity from civil prosecution. Had it done so I would have viewed this as exoneration and would have concluded the litigation, saving the taxpayer millions of pounds.”
The action came after the Court of Session ruled in 2019 that the Lord Advocate did not have immunity from claims of malicious prosecution. Whitehouse and Clark are understood to have received around £21m in damages and more than £3m in legal costs from the Crown Office who admitted liability.
The total cost to the public purse has now topped £60m following the Kroll settlement and there are several claims from other wrongfully prosecuted executives which could see the bill rise to £100m.
Whitehouse said: “This sordid saga needs a conclusion for confidence in a broken system to be restored. The inquiry should not be delayed any longer. It is time for those in authority to face their day of reckoning and to be held to account. I have no doubt there are an array of individuals who have worked for or advised the Crown, present and past, viewing that day with great trepidation.”
Grier also called for the public inquiry to begin, saying: “They should get on with the public inquiry or, as a minimum, at least announce the status of it and what they intend to do.”
The Scottish Conservatives have said the judge chosen to lead the inquiry should come from elsewhere in the UK. Russell Findlay MSP, deputy convener of the justice committee, said: “There is nothing stopping them from confirming the inquiry will be led by a judge from outside Scotland, identifying that judge, and working out the parameters and structure of the inquiry.”
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “There is an ongoing process of mediation and as this matter remains live before the court it is not appropriate to comment in detail.
“The Crown is committed to public scrutiny of these cases and more information will be made available in due course.
“Since the prosecutions which gave rise to these civil actions, the Crown has taken significant steps to safeguard against similar situations arising again. New arrangements for managing complex cases have been implemented and are now well established.”
The Scottish Government said: “In February 2021, the Scottish Parliament debated the subject of an inquiry into the prosecutions and voted in favour of a judge-led inquiry and the Scottish Government is committed to this course of action. The exact form of inquiry will be determined once all legal proceedings in relation to the cases are concluded.”