Lord Advocate looks to axe £60m malicious Rangers fraud case

Scotland's most senior law officer through legal representatives admitted that despite concerns about the former Rangers chief's past there will be taxpayer loss over damages and legal costs but that should be drastically cut.

The new twist in the 'abuse of power' scandal emerged as Gerry Moynihan for the Lord Advocate sought to curb the extent of the claim made by Mr Ahmad, who is understood to have been a key player in the £5.5m takeover of Rangers by the Charles Green-fronted Sevco consortium and says he has lost his career and suffered "irreparable reputational harm" over the failed fraud case.

Mr Moynihan has claimed in the continuing damages case that there has been an admission of "fraudulent evasion of tax" by Mr Ahmad which happened after he left London-based Allenby Capital during the civil case. He was a director of the firm till September, 2011, three years before being charged in relation to the failed Rangers fraud case.

He said judge Lord Harrower should examine any financial loss from lost earnings at all has been proven, "given the dishonesty".

Lord Kean for Mr Ahmad insists no evidence has been produced that without the the malicious prosecution, the former Rangers finance director would have done anything other than pursue his career in finance.

"The fact is that he should not have been the subject of a malicious prosecution," he said. "The evidence is that it was the instigation of the malicious prosecution that cause the damage that is now complained of."

He said there was no obligation to disclose antecedent criminality to Rangers or to Proton, another company he was involved with.

And he said the earnings at Rangers would not have been unlawful earnings because Mr Ahmad did not disclose criminality.

Mr Ahmad was charged in 2014 along with six other men during an investigation into how Scots businessman Craig Whyte bought the club company from Sir David Murray for £1 in May, 2011.

They were subjected to detention and criminal proceedings in relation to fraud allegations in the wake of Mr Whyte's disastrous purchase of Rangers and its subsequent sale before a judge dismissed all charges.

The Lord Advocate had initially denied liability for a malicious prosecution and in August, 2020, sent a letter to Mr Ahmad's solicitor admitting he should not have been prosecuted in connection with the club takeover and advising an apology would be issued.

Mr Ahmad, the 53-year-old former director of the club's football board, received a renewed apology from the then James Wolffe QC in June, 2021 but only stated that he and former Rangers chief executive Mr Green "should not have been prosecuted" and had "no proper basis" while there was initially no malice admission.

Mr Moynihan has said in the civil case that Mr Ahmad's 'fraud' was uncovered during the civil action and said that it did not just "put a cloud" over the extent of the action, it "takes an axe".

"The key is on whom was the onus to raise this antecedent criminality. We know this for sure [Mr Ahmad] always knew of his antecedent criminality," he said.

Mr Moynihan said that the whole case had been predicated on a "false premise that was wrongfully concealed" but admitted: "I have never argued for the dismissal of this action, because there is a wrong, I don't follow it is an egregious wrong. There will be some loss.. and I have accepted legal costs but the question is whether [Mr Ahmad] is entitled to claim the financial losses."

One of the issues related to the amount of damage that was done to both Mr Ahmad and former Rangers chief executive Charles Green who had a key involvement with a company called Proton International.

Mr Moynihan said that in the worst case the undisclosed "antecedent criminality" meant the court could not have worked with Proton.

He said that Mr Ahmad had also been subject of an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority after he left Allenby. He also said Mr Ahmad withdrew an application to the FCA to carry out regulated work within financial services with Zeus Capital before it "made any determination of his honesty, integrity and reputation".

He said that the absence of FCA approval since the latter part of 2011 would have restricted and would continue to curb the range of work that he would be able to undertake.

The Lord Advocate has admitted liability to make reparations to Mr Ahmad "for any loss, injury and damage sustained by him" as a direct result of the prosecution that continued from September 2, 2015 to June 21, 2016.

Previous beneficiaries of admitted malicious prosecutions in the Rangers case were finance experts David Whitehouse and Paul Clark (below) of multi-national consultants Duff and Phelps who were appointed administrators of Rangers when it fell into insolvency in February, 2012.

They settled out of court with the Crown Office in 2021 to the tune of around £26.6m including costs.

Sources close to Mr Ahmad said that his legal fees alone for the case amounted to £3m.

But the Lord Advocate only agreed to an interim award to the tune of £220,000 as they aimed to question the extent of the claim made.

Lawyers for the Lord Advocate  have already stated: "There has never been objective probable cause for the charges against him and in the circumstances malice in the sense required to give rise to liability at common law can be inferred."

The Lord Advocate admitted liability to make reparations to Mr Ahmad "for any loss, injury and damage sustained by him as a direct result of the prosecution that continued from September 2, 2015 to June 21, 2016.

The police investigation was launched against a backdrop of the controversial nature of Mr Whyte's nine months in charge at Ibrox.

He agreed to take on Rangers' financial obligations, which included an £18m bank debt, a potential £72m 'big tax case' bill, a £2.8m "small tax case" liability, £1.7m for stadium repairs, £5m for players and £5m in working capital.

But there was outrage when it emerged Mr Whyte’s takeover in May, 2011 was supported with the mortgaging of future season ticket sales before the  Sevco buyout of the club led by Mr Green in June, 2011.

Lord Harrower is expected to give a judgment in due course.