Rangers: Former administrators of Scottish football club are suing the Crown Office for millions
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The US-based financial consultancy firm claim they faced significant losses following the wrongful arrest of two of their staff during the Crown Office’s “malicious” investigation into the 2012 takeover of Rangers FC.
Their offices were raided in 2014 and two men, David Whitehouse and Paul Clark, were subsequently arrested.
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Hide AdThe charges were later dropped and both men received £10.5 million in damages after suing the Crown Office and Police Scotland.
In 2019 they appealed to five judges at the Court of Sessions to be allowed to take the Lord Advocate to civil court.
The judges agreed, with the Lord President commenting: “There is no immunity from suit. Privilege is not a defence to malicious prosecution.
“The fact that a flood of actions is unlikely to occur appears to be the lesson learned from the many jurisdictions, both in Europe and in the Commonwealth, in which no, or a very limited, immunity exists.”
The Crown Office has admitted that there was a “malicious prosecution” of Whitehouse and Clark, and conducted without “probable cause”.
This week former chairman Charles Green accepted a settlement of £6.4 million out-of-court for also being wrongly prosecuted.
Now, Duff & Phelps, which is headquartered in New York City, is bringing legal action and firm bosses are reportedly looking for £120 million claiming damage to their reputation.
The Times reported that a source said: "I believed Duff & Phelps were suing for £60 million but the figure has gone up and up and is now closer to £120 million.
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Hide Ad“Seemingly, the Crown Office want to negotiate and don't want it to go to a hearing."
Another legal source reportedly told the paper: “The impact on the company has been a very significant one.
"It was a successful business with a significant turnover and, as a result, the impact could be measured in big numbers.”
Roddy Dunlop QC, acting on behalf of Duff & Phelps, also spoke to The Times, and he said that they were seeking a substantial sum, adding: "The case is ongoing. It has been raised."
In October 2020 Judge Lord Tyre ordered the payment of £350,000 to Mr Whitehouse and £250,000 to Mr Clark as an interim payment after Crown lawyers admitted much of the prosecution against them was "malicious" and conducted without "probable cause".
David Whitehouse and Paul Clark took over as administrators at Rangers during the well-documented financial collapse and subsequent liquidation of Rangers FC plc in 2012.
The dire situation resulted in the Glasgow giants being demoted to the bottom tier of Scottish football and the creation of a new parent company to act as the economic face of the 1872-founded football club.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service were approached for this article and told The Scotsman they would not be providing a comment as the matter relates to an active case.