Apologia
09/02/2012 1,897 Comments
Just in case some of you do not follow my Twitter account (imaginatively named: @rangerstaxcase), I realised yesterday that I had made a mistake. A few days ago, I tweeted, and posted, that two (2) additional directors of Rangers FC had benefited from the Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) scam that so gravely imperils one of Scotland’s great institutions. This statement followed Craig Whyte’s interview with The Sun newspaper where he named ex-Chairman John McClelland and ex-Chief Executive Martin Bain as having participated in the scheme.
My statement was issued in error. A more accurate statement would be to say: “At least two (2) additional directors of Rangers FC used the EBT scam that makes insolvency virtually inevitable“. (I hope that my statement did not cause any inconvenience to anyone).
This is important because as company directors they had a responsibility to check that the correct amount of tax, VAT, and National Insurance contributions were paid- and on time. Company directors are required to act in good faith– in the interests of the company as a whole. This includes not having (or declaring) conflicts of interest. Rangers’ accounts for the periods covering EBT use do not mention any directors declaring a conflict of interest. (It is possible that they have declared this in non-public board meeting minutes, but shareholders would not have been aware of this). Their obligation to avoid, where possible, conflicts of interest would have been best served by simply not having any personal benefit from Rangers’ tax strategy. Sticking their own snouts in the trough rendered them “conflicted”. How can you assess the suitability of a high risk tax strategy for a company, when you have a personal incentive (and believed at the time, no personal liability)? Not a single Rangers director is known to have resigned over the issue of tax strategy.
Sir David Murray is beloved by many former employees and associates. He is renowned for his personal generosity to those who do right by him. The question that must be asked: Did David Murray effectively buy off Rangers’ directors opposition by allowing them to participate in the scam?
On other matters, I have been deluged for weeks with questions about “the wee tax case”- has the bill for £2.8m been cleared?, the status of Rangers’ failure to keep up with PAYE & NIC remittances, and the nature of my claim that the club had fallen behind on VAT payments. All that I can safely say just now is that all of these matters are intertwined. To explain more on the complexities of the situation just now would be to get too deeply involved in some delicate issues. It is best that I just leave this subject alone for now. However, rest assured that these topics have not been forgotten by any of the interested parties.
About rangerstaxcase
Rangers Tax Case 
What are the odds on RTC having a new page tomorrow?
Just watched Spiers whinging on BBC. What good would it do for Celtic to win Titles without Rangers.
Well let me tell you
BLOODY MARVELLOUS
Welcome back Adam …..sorry for good fans like yourself 😦
v says:
13/02/2012 at 11:21 pm
Thanks for the sentiment but I post from the point of view of someone who sees a club I have supported for years being destroyed by self serving knights of the realm and gobshites (it’s not swearing, it’s parliamentary language in the Dail). I am quite happy to rubbish Whyte, as he’s rubbish, there are others far more qulified than me to tear into SDM
I was watching TV on the day when RFC died.And as a more worthy poster has already said “It was a JFK moment”
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I was watching TV in a single end when JFK died
I wonder what he would have said today
Maybe something like……
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You
“Fellow Citizens, Club Chairmen, Leaders of the SFA and SPL. we observe today not a victory of one club over another, but a celebration of freedom – symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning – signifying renewal, as well as change.
The beautiful game is very different now. For you now hold in your mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of discrimination and injustice. And yet these same honest beliefs for which our forebears fought and sometimes despaired are still issues in our little country – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of our long suffering forefathers. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Scots – born in this modern age, tempered by history, disciplined by a hard and bitter environment, proud of our ancestry and our nation – and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has sometimes strayed but deep down has always been committed, and to which we are even more committed today as we stand at a turning point in our history
Let everyone know, whether they wish us well or ill, that we must pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of our beautiful game.
This much we pledge – and more.
To those whose cultural origins we shared, we pledge the respect of faithful friends But we cannot remain rooted in a divided past.
We have learnt a bitter lesson
Divided, there is little we can do – for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder. United as a Nation, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures.
To this new Club and all others who rise from the ashes we welcome them to the ranks of the free, In the fullness of time they will earn the right to play at our highest level. We pledge our word that they will be treated fairly. One form of state control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more rigid tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom – and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly abused power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those peoples in the lower and junior leagues across the nation struggling to break the bonds of misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required – not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. We must learn the lesson of this tragedy. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. We must ensure the wealth we earn is taxed fairly and shared with the less fortunate .
In the long history of the world, only a few generations had the opportunity of grasping freedom as it passed fleetingly across the stage. We must not shrink from this responsibility – We must welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavour will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, to those in power, Our fellow Scots, This is a historic moment, You have our trust ,
You have our support
Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.
Mike
Funny that you mention Graeme Souness as I noticed on a forum, although be it not the most credible, that someone had posted that Murray, Whyte and Souness had all been seen at Gleneagles tonight. I’m not saying this is true but just thought it was interesting that you had heard his name mentioned on RR.
Whe Whyte says it will be “business as usual until . . . . ”
That means Dundee Utd, Hearts etc shouldn’t worry about their cash
Right?
🙂
Martybhoy at 11.19.
Exactly I posted earlier today that the web of deceit was unravelling. The house of cards is going to crash about their ears.
I said yesterday too. Join the dots and follow the money.
Get a blank piece of paper, write all the names down and their related companies see who is in bed with whom draw a line between each and you will realise what a farce this has been from day one.
Incidentally just because HMRC haven’t said anything doesn’t mean that they don’t know. All electronic transfers even to far off places can be traced. They know the truth and for that reason there will be no last minute deals with HMRC and serial VAT miscreant MBBCW
Hear Hear Jean, I endorse your sentiments totally.
OnandOnandOnand says:
13/02/2012 at 11:24 pm
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Take a bow mate, your a credit to yourself.
Chucking it now after a fairly excitable day. I posted earlier that it seemed odd that Team Whyte should decide to pull the plug now, when they, apparently, have the cash to see them through to end March and a BTC decision, courtesy of the Jelavic fee.
Crosses my weary head that the term ‘moratorium from HMRC action’ is operative here. HMRC cannot act on the big tac case until the judgement comes down, still some weeks away.
Simultaneously, we have talk from Whyte that the HMRC liability could be £75M, a figure not easily compatible with what has been published to date.
Question is: Were HMRC about to go to Court on a further matter? Have Rangers pulled this stroke to stymie a Winding Up Order on a more recent liability?
To bed. To sleep. Perchance to dream,
calderon says:
13/02/2012 at 7:06 pm
Incredible to hear AJ say on Radio Scotland that he went to Lloyd’s with the following proposal: Add the £30m we owe on to the MIH £800m debt, make it £830m what’s the odds, and make The Rangers debt free. He spoke about Rangers debt being only 3% of what Murray owed the bank. He seemed genuinely surprised that the bank turned this down.
Hope somebody has taped the full interview, it’s required listening.
thedogbarks… says:
13/02/2012 at 7:12 pm
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You may be right Calderon…and apologies if you are.
My understanding of what AJ said was that the debt would be moved under the MIH banner (being only 3% of the whole) but that RFC would then repay that in a relaxed timeframe (that being their own sweet time)
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I’ve listened to the interview again – (thanks Jean and easyJambo). Johnston accuses the bank of ‘contributory negligence’ in lending Rangers money they knew they wouldn’t be able to repay. He talks about ‘migrating the debt’ into MIH. He could not understand why the bank would not do this to avoid ‘negative publicity’. He said he had spoken to major business figures in Scotland who thought this was a ‘win-win’ for everyone. He talked (vaguely) about converting bonds and shares into equity. Nowhere is there a mention of ever paying it back. The inference I took from it was that it was to be moved and forgotten about. I accept I may be wrong but Mr Johnston was emotional and unguarded as he made the comments.
Adam,
You shouldered the burden of Counsel for the Defence for far longer than I would. I suppose I’m the Chris Keatings figure, called for the defence but make the pursuer’s case, for all those who read Paul McConville’s excellent analysis of the One Stop case.
You have been given plaudits and brickbats in equal share and taken both. Let me give you my chapeau
There was Comedy Gold on the Real Radio phone-in tonight. Not from the callers or the clueless numpties DJ and AR. It was the adverts.
Listeners were invited to take a trip to Belfast to discover the Titanic experience.
Then there was an advert offering help for those who suspect they have an alcohol problem.
Finally, [drum roll] someone was offering debt counselling services.
Perhaps the advertisers knew the MBB would be listening?
RTC (appreciate you may be up to your neck in ice-cream at the mo)
Any good reason for my post in regard to Newsnight not being posted?
I posted a basic transcript with some damning “quotes” from GS (perhaps that?)
Anyway, check it out on iplayer if you haven’t seen it already! Explosive stuff!
Martybhoy/Moomins
I assume you will be buying your usual copy of the Times tomorrow? (London, not Evening)
Good to see you back Adam.
All I need now is Hugh McEwan posting too.
He was like your Celtic alter-ego.
Have missed you both.
Hopefully Hugh will return too.
As you said Adam, you never trusted Whyte and I feel for reasonable-minded Rangers fans like yourself.
OnandOnandOnand says:
13/02/2012 at 11:39 pm
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Adam,
You shouldered the burden of Counsel for the Defence for far
longer than I would. I suppose I’m the Chris Keatings figure,
called for the defence but make the pursuer’s case, for all those
who read Paul McConville’s excellent analysis of the One Stop case.
You have been given plaudits and brickbats in equal share and
taken both. Let me give you my chapeau
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yup! This has been a crazy crazy ride and you have both played a huge part in telling the story. Chapeau to you both.
For anyone who didnt hear the Alastair Johnston interview a transcript of the main points is here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17020490
Try this link to get Alastair Johnston on Sportsound
http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/scotfoot
From KDS
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anybody got the bbc newsnight scotland show on link?
Part 1
Part 2
Enjoy…
i guess AJ just couldnt understand why they wouldn’t move the debt across to MIH – again.
it must’ve been a big shock.
Is Stephen Morrow RTC? Looked like he was trying not laugh or smile!!!
Off to bed now,,,,,think I will stick some cash in the Hotpoint…….Full cycle….40 degree wash…..Will be cleaner than an Obsessive Compulsive’s bathroom by morning…..Or might just absent mindedly over or under invoice some customers……hmmmmmm
Wonder if anyone else has thought of that since May 2011……hmmmm
i was thinking Neil Gatey might be RTC!
Several year planning no doubt.
http://whois.domaintools.com/fearandgreedreport.com
Hugh Mc
Please send a message.
All this time and you deserve to be here more than the rest of us.
Adam
What difference would it have made if the CW takeover hadn’t happened?
The club still would have had an unpayable level of debt…agreed?
Don (and apparently my partner in central defence – the Baresi to my Bobo Balde) @9.00
I’ve been trying to see the rest of the jigsaw with the asistance of a particularly fine Aussie Shiraz. My best guess is this. I suspect HMRC were about to move on a winding up petition for bog standard arrears of PAYE, VAT NIC etc, and the purpose of today’s notice is to obtain the moratorium, as well as maintain the pretence that the GEF has balls of steel and is playing high stakes poker with Hector (which incidentally they are lapping up over on FF like the deluded fuds they mostly are).
That in turn lets the GEF roll all of the HMRC debt in together in the public perception and make it all look big tax case related and hence Murray’s fault. The line is now out that the big tax case liability is up to £75m. That is news to me and everyone else who thought they were reasonably well informed. The working figure was £49m including penalties not £49m plus penalties. But if you had not paid VAT or PAYE or NICs for a few months and if you had crystallised a big £5m or so VAT liability on the Ticketus deal you could get up towards £70m.
What he does next seems to me to depend on what his end game truly is. He seems to want to maintain the pretence that he gives two hoots for Rangers, at least for the time being. That seems to me to rule out closing the doors mid season. So he does have a practical problem with receivership or liquidation immediately. My suspicion therefore is that he will appoint an administrator to enable them to limp to the end of the season, and he’ll leave it to the administrator to cut the playing staff to the bone.
My suspicion is that all of the money is out of the hands of Rangers. I get that from the comment that Wavetower would fund but only if the funding could be ring fenced from the tax liability. And so Whyte will I suspect drip in just enough to fund a skeleton staff til the end of the season. Broadfooty, Whittakery and the like should be very worried.
What happens then? Assuming that there is no exist strategy from administration and the administrator’s brief is to see out the season spending as little as possible, what happens in May? Is there any need for a receiver as things have panned out or would he go straight to a liquidator? Much depends on how much he’s already got out. The Ticketus thing is the key to this. If he got that money without offering Ticketus any more than a floating charge over Wavetower and or a pledge of the RFC shares would he not just use Wavetower as a hose to suck the money out of RFC but send it straight through to Liberty Capital in the BVI and then fold Wavetower too? Again you can bet your bottom dollar he’s not paying this month’s PAYE, and if there is £5m unpaid VAT on the Ticketus proceeds he could have a relatively serious warchest (pun entirely intended) already extracted.
Would that not then leave Ticketus trying to do a deal with Paul Murray or whoever to get enough for Ibrox, Murray Park and the intellectual property to take Ticketus out of the picture?
The big question then is whether Hector will impose a serious liquidator and fund that liquidator to chase the rest of the money round the world.
calderon says:
13/02/2012 at 11:37 pm
Incredible to hear AJ say on Radio Scotland …I’ve listened to the interview again – (thanks Jean and easyJambo). Johnston accuses the bank of ‘contributory negligence’ in lending Rangers money…
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Prior to RTC, I had regarded both AJ & John McLelland as ‘big hitting’, extremely smart and capable businessmen of international repute.
With the MBB claim that McLelland was also in the EBT scheme – and with an alleged side letter to boot – my opinion of him has fallen off a cliff.
AJ has achieved a senior level at IMG, but I find his above quote as fairly astonishing. Using a term such as ‘contributory negligence’ – to me anyway – means that you admit you accept that you where negligent but the other party didn’t help matters.
Seems like a desperate excuse for Board level mismanagement: we asked for money from the bank, but they should have known we couldn’t pay it back ?! Even if AJ believes this, he shouldn’t have said it in public, as it just makes him look daft.
I think calderon’s observation that AJ was emotional had also perhaps affected his judgement during that interview.
Hopefully there will be many more ‘unguarded’ quotes to come from the main players !
Obviously he still trusts in Mr Whyte!
Originally posted by GaryMcLean1
Rangers must have an account that the Chairman can give us the account number and sort code to so that we can deposit money into this account when we have funds avaliable?
Would it not be worth while putting that information in a statement so that as and when supporters are able to make a donation they are able to?
Onandx3 & Adam, you have my sympathies.
I know I posted a few nights back about Spiers getting on my nerves. But he was at it it again tonight on both SSB and Newsnight. If he says once more, “Rangers will survive, maybe the time line will be broken, but they will survive in some form…” I may suffer a blood pressure related stroke. If I do, and don’t live to see this all come to a conclusion, can someone please avenge me! But only after taking the time to explain insolvency to him…
Liberty
Wavetower
Merchant Capital
Tixway
Pritchard Stockbrokers
Rangers FC
Follow the money
Was it not AJ’s plan to “migrate” the entire tax debt (£75m!!!!) into MIH and so effectively pass it on to the taxpayer – since the Bank has been effectively running MIH for quite a while now? And no repayment necessary by the Dignitas team! What a wonderful solution to the problem. Not.
To the many other faults add: Ethics. Lack of.
Paulie Walnuts says:
14/02/2012 at 12:04 am
Paulie, would you think that even drip-feeding a skeleton staff until the end of the season goes against his grain, as it is a drip feed from his swag bag?
I wonder when we are going to find out about Sir David Murray’s side letter
Paulie Walnuts
“The Ticketus thing is the key to this. If he got that money without offering Ticketus any more than a floating charge over Wavetower and or a pledge of the RFC shares would he not just use Wavetower as a hose to suck the money out of RFC but send it straight through to Liberty Capital in the BVI and then fold Wavetower too?”
Does that mean you think he is making off with the Ticketus money?
So where did he get the dosh to pay off LBG? Did he use his own money? If so, then he paid out £21m to get £24m back in. All this for £3m?
Nah, don’t think so
Happy Valentines Day folks. A big sloppy wet kiss to you all X
Paulie Walnuts says:
14/02/2012 at 12:04 am
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So Paulie, here we have a man whom a judge in the Royal Courts of Justice some 12 years ago reported as having put “..the assets of the company (Vital UK) out of the reach of the creditors on a somewhat dubious delayed basis”
And now, 11 years after starting to use EBTs to pay its players, and having failed during that time to make any provision whatsoever for a possible future requirement to pay tax on the EBT payments, we have a club owned by that same man seemingly putting assets (season ticket money for this and the next 3 years) out of the reach of creditors on a somewhat dubious basis, albeit not so much delayed as advanced.
I see a pattern here and if I were HMRC, I would follow the money.
Has anyone got a copy of COP 9 to hand?
Slimshady says:
14/02/2012 at 12:13 am
Liberty
Wavetower
Merchant Capital
Tixway
Pritchard Stockbrokers
Rangers FC
Follow the money
________________________
What money? None of the companies you list have any money. Debt, yes. Money? Are we to assume it all comes from Liberty, a cash cow that filters dosh down?
Liberty has feck all money, hence the Ticketus deal
Nighty night all.. Wonder if mbbcw sleeps ?
Buddy Morrisey says:
13/02/2012 at 8:30 pm
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John Reid in October 2009
”But it’s not an act of character, courage or leadership to get into debt – it’s an act of moral cowardice.”
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He should have said that to Gordon Brown when he was wrecking the economy
Wiggy Smith says in his interview ” I’ve only just heard” and something about ” there are positive”,
?????????
Has this guy been in hibernation?
Can we keep John Reid out of this blog please?
Horrible individual and a blot on our history methinks?
Slim, (too extensive to post content)
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/cop9-2011.htm
Onandx3,
I don’t believe for a minute he used his own money for Lloyds.Some sort of bridging facility at best immediately repaid from the ill gotten gains. Bear in mind also that if there are the arrears of VAT and PAYE we think there might be he’s holding that cash too, plus any change from Jelavic. So lets assume he’s got the change from Ticketus after he paid Lloyds and the costs of the takeover- say £5m Plus the VAT on that – another £5m. Plus maybe three months PAYE, plus whatever else he’s extracted. Might easily be £20m. Certainly £10m.
The question is can he retain it. If Hector goes after him in a big way and is prepared to spend a million quid on professional fees to make the point it will get very interesting.
OnandOnandOnand says:
14/02/2012 at 12:24 am
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Paulie Walnuts
“The Ticketus thing is the key to this. If he got that money without offering Ticketus any more than a floating charge over Wavetower and or a pledge of the RFC shares would he not just use Wavetower as a hose to suck the money out of RFC but send it straight through to Liberty Capital in the BVI and then fold Wavetower too?”
Does that mean you think he is making off with the Ticketus money?
So where did he get the dosh to pay off LBG? Did he use his own money? If so, then he paid out £21m to get £24m back in. All this for £3m?
Nah, don’t think so
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I made the point yesterday that the Ticketus deal was in 2 parts.
Ticketus helped Rangers avoid defaulting on the first payment by agreeing to accept an additional 23,000 STs for year four in lieu of what was owed for year one. 😦
I can’t see any reason that they would have agreed the 2nd deal if they had control of the floating charge. They had to know then that the game was up. Seriously, if they could have claimed insurance or called in a security, they would have done it a year ago.
We know that Wavetower were granted the floating charge after Ticketus had advanced their cash & Lloyds were paid off. If Ticketus had asked for the floating charge as security, it would have been registered to them from Lloyds. It didn’t, it went to Wavetower.
Whatever security Ticketus thought they had (and who really knows what that might have been) had clearly evaporated by the time the 1st bill came in.
Including the most recent event, what has happened since then that would be inconsistent with this scenario?
OnandOnandOnand on 14/02/2012 at 12:24 am
As I posted yesterday(and a long long time ago), I believe the Prichards suspension may be key to this.
For a man with no discernible wealth, using other peoples money is what he does best. Now what could The Whyte Knight use as security? Other peoples money?
FSA, among others, have shown recent interest in the goings on. Mr Greir & GT, take that as a friendly warning.
Paulie W
Sorry, just can’t see it. He paid Ticketus £3.5m and deferred the other £6m he was due to pay them in June 2011. The club has had to pay wages and all other outgoings,I was at a few games and non-sb ticket income would be reduced, if it takes £3m a month to keep them going, he just ran out of money. I can accept that he got good money from the Chelsea game and others but the debit/credit account since he came in, assuming the Ticketus loan was used to repay the LBG borrowings, is still in debit.
He has no money, maybe others on here can prove that to you but to suggest he has run off with £10m to £20m is just fantasy.
He’s a gobshite fud, that’s all
Is it possible that the BTC tribunal verdict could be delivered before the ten day period is over?
Now the real work begins. The administrator and various accountants and lawyers will pick over what’s left of the carcase of Rangers FC after the MBB makes off with anything that isn’t nailed down when he remembers an urgent business appointment in a tax haven. Who knows what they will unearth. Though I expect RTC has a pretty good idea…
There are more important things at stake than the decade or more of skulduggery and deceit at Poundland, no matter how compellng and fascinating it is. Try to see beyond that moral vacuum.
If you are a shareholder or season ticket holder at an SPL club, WRITE to your club’s chairman. Don’t just whine on websites or moan to your pals. Make your views known where it matters. In your letter or email explain what you’d like the SFA and SPL to do once Rangers goes into administration (and presumably get liquidated). And why. Ask your Chairman how the club intends to vote on these matters and let him know what you expect from your club. Ask him what contingency plans your club has made for the failure of Rangers and the likely impact on your club’s finances. Put the pressure on at the only place where it will make a difference.
There’s soon going to be a once in a lifetime chance to restructure Scottish football. The collapse of Rangers FC should provide the opportunity for long overdue and badly needed reform. This could include more influence for paying fans and less from sponsors and TV companies. It could even be the chance to get rid of the blazers and rationalise the game’s governing bodies into something that actually works properly. Or maybe I’ve been celebrating too much tonight and that’s just the drink talking. 🙂
Let’s focus on that instead of petty matters like 10 point deductions, which MSM hack has been the most stupid/craven/clueless/biased or who’s had the biggest servings of succulent lamb. Or who might one day fail the SFA and SFL “fit and proper person” tests. The current and previous regime at Ibrox will be well out the picture by the time decisions about these things matter anyway. So could their cheerleaders in the MSM.
Their day of reckoning is not too far away and probably already decided for them. What happens after that?