'Four-year nightmare' over as jury clears football boss of £2.3m fraud

Published on Thursday 27 August 2009 22:15

FORMER Livingston Football Club chairman Dominic Keane has been cleared of a £2.3 million fraud.

He had been on trial at the High Court in Edinburgh accused of duping lottery winner John McGuinness and businessman William Haughey into a fraudulent loan refinancing deal to develop the club.

But he was cleared of pretending to Mr McGuinness that Mr Haughey had already signed the five-year loan deal. The jury also rejected allegations that Mr Keane, a former Celtic director, knew that Mr Haughey's signatures were forged.

Mr Keane shouted "yes" when the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

Outside court he said: "This has been a nightmare for the last four years and now it's all over.

"And honestly, I just want to go home and be with my family."

He refused to comment on his feelings towards Mr Haughey, who had given evidence against him.

Ruling out a return to football, he added: "I'm going to enjoy the rest of my life. It's been four years this has been going on for now, and it's taken its toll.

"But at the end of the day, I'm just so pleased that so many people who I know behind the scenes have supported me and I'm so grateful for all the witnesses – Crown and defence witnesses – who stood up and counted at the right time."

Mr Keane got involved with Livingston in the late 1990s with "ambitious" plans for its future.

With his two business partners, he was part of the club's rapid progression through the Scottish Football League to top-flight SPL status. Its rags-to-riches story culminated in European matches.

An original loan was struck with Royal Bank of Scotland to finance their dream and fund an upgrade to the stadium, essential for SPL status.

During Mr Keane's eight-day trial, the jury of 12 men and three women heard the plans stumbled when Livingston failed to win promotion in the first year of his involvement.

Mr Keane and Mr Haughey had a number of fall-outs, and Mr Haughey's involvement reduced over time, the court was told. Repayment on the loan was due within six months but this did not happen, prompting the refinancing package.

In court, Mr Keane was described as a highly committed man who showed "24-7" devotion to the club. But prosecutors said he was motivated only by a drive for profit.

When Mr Keane took the stand, he insisted a "confession" letter in which he accepted blame for the club's financial mess was "not true". He said the letter – which describes Mr Haughey's signatures as forgeries – had been written to get "peace" after a shouting match.

Mr Keane previously told the court: "It's not true, it couldn't be true. I'd been a partner from the start – how could it possibly be true?"

The trial also heard conflicting claims over where the three men were when the loan refinancing papers were signed.

Mr Keane said all three partners had been at Hampden Park to sign the loan on 14 April, 2001, during a Livingston-Hibernian cup match. The jury rejected the charges that the papers were signed at Larkhall and elsewhere and that Mr Haughey's signatures were forged.

Handwriting experts had cast doubt on the signatures, which they said could have been freehand copies.