Governments are basically shakedown operations, like the mafia, but with better manners. They are parasites with no morals whatsoever. Jump directly to the content. Sign in. All Football. Football Scottish Premiership Stewart Fisher.
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Mr Shanks said the two men were installed by the major shareholder, Murray Group, as part of a condition with the bank but that Lloyds was not controlling the club. Referring to the letter, Mr Findlay said they were "clearly seen as the bank's men". There was strong involvement from the bank to get our debt repaid.
Other email discussions between Mr Shanks and colleagues were read which discussed the potential of removing banking facilities to Rangers and changing the board in the run-up to the May takeover.
Mr Findlay asked if this was intended to threaten and put pressure on the board to approve the deal. Mr Shanks replied: "Leverage", adding that it was "negotiation tactics". Earlier, the witness had denied applying pressure over the sale. Mr Shanks said he first became aware of Whyte's offer for the club at the end of The bid was later revised twice, but Mr Shanks said the bank was "happy with the final bid, in the context of everything".
Prosecutors allege Whyte pretended to Sir David Murray, and others, that funds were available to make all required payments to acquire a "controlling and majority stake" in the club. He may have lied his way into Ibrox, concealing the true nature of how he was funding the takeover and his entrance signalled the beginning of the financial collapse of Rangers but his behaviour was not considered criminal.
Craig Whyte was the only man to face a jury but does he shoulder sole blame for the humbling of a great Scottish institution? Back in , Sir David Murray, who had been in charge of Rangers for 18 years, said: "If I move on from Rangers I will leave it in the hands of people who I think have the best interests of the club. Two years later the financial crash of brought the Bank of Scotland to its knees and it had to be rescued by Lloyds Banking Group and the British taxpayer. Once Lloyds got a peek at the Scottish bank's lending book to some of its more high profile customers - chief among them, Sir David - they got a shock.
The crash had left the Murray Group exposed to his new bankers to the tune of almost a billion pounds. Lloyds, believing the previous lending to Murray had been reckless, set about dismantling his empire in a bid to recoup the losses.
Ian Fraser, the financial commentator who has reported on Murray's businesses extensively, told the BBC: "Rangers was the beginning of the workout of his business empire. But there was a kicker, as revealed on day eight of the Whyte trial, by Lloyds banker Ian Shanks. Humbled by the colossal debt and desperate to hold on to whatever parts of his crumbing empire he could, Murray sold the club to Whyte. Simply put, Whyte was the only show in town. And Murray had been told he would get his metals business back if he sold Rangers or paid off the debt.
The only thing is, Murray group didn't declare this apparent benefit to the independent board of Rangers charged with scrutinising the takeover, according to its chairman, Alastair Johnston. In a wide ranging interview with the BBC, Johnston said: "One of the things that became very important to the independent board…that if indeed there was any other consideration…other benefits that would be there in, in any form, whether it's from the buyer or whether it's from the bank, that that needed to be disclosed.
Johnston, whose primary role within the independent board was to represent the minority shareholders of Rangers during the takeover, said he was "shocked" when he heard the evidence of Ian Shanks from Lloyds.
He said: "I didn't think that the incentivisation was so material, was so fundamental. But Johnston and the rest of the board had sought - and received - assurances from Murray's companies, that he believed were sufficient to show Murray was receiving no side benefits from the deal.
The BBC has obtained the letter provided to the independent board, which states:. Asked if he had not raised concerns about potential side benefits to the minority shareholders because of this letter, Johnston answered: "That's right. Johnston told the BBC: "Oh yeah I feel misled because these guys knew, the bank and the Murray executives, their accountants, their lawyers, they knew why we were asking [for the assurance]. In a statement, Sir David Murray said he did not accept the assurance provided was misleading.
Once this was agreed in principle the bank then required that the transaction should be linked to a sale of Rangers. Craig Whyte's nine months as Rangers owner were a disaster from which it has still not fully recovered but in the end it was Whyte's toxic Ticketus transaction in the run-up to the purchase that would land him in the dock.
He was charged with fraud because he had raised funds for the takeover commitments by selling three years worth of Rangers season ticket revenues before he owned the club. When Sir David Murray took to the witness box in the fraud trial, he effectively said he was duped and only heard about the Ticketus deal a year after the sale went through. But the jury would hear about multiple warning signs that, due to the incentives made by the bank and a desperation to get the deal done, the Murray Group allegedly ignored.
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