A staggering £24 million bill is set to be picked up by the taxpayer in order to settle the legal claims of the administrators linked to the sale of Rangers in 2012.
It has been reported today by BBC News Scotland that a public apology to David Whitehouse and Paul Clark is set to follow.
The two men were subject to a ‘malicious wrongful arrest’ after their involvement in Rangers adminstration saga.
Back in December, an out of court settlement ensured that both men ended up with more than £10 million each, in damages.
Now, the full extent of the lengthy wrangle has been confirmed, which could well have consequences for the Scottish legal system.
“The Crown Office has now revealed both men were awarded £10.5m damages, while legal costs will be at least £3m.”
“Scotland’s most senior law officer has said there was no criminal misconduct in the failed fraud probe.”
“The Lord Advocate James Wolffe will make a statement on the case to Holyrood next week where he is expected to offer a public apology to both men.”
This latest development in no way impacts Rangers FC or the football operations at Ibrox.
Malice
The BBC feature continued on Mr Wolffe’s submission to the justice committee at Holyrood:
“Each of these pursuers was a very high-earning individual, and the settlement figure, in each case, reflected the actual loss which the pursuer was able to demonstrate had been caused to him by the wrongful prosecutions.”
“In addition, £3.08m has been paid out by the Crown Office to cover the former administrators’ legal expenses to date but the final liability for these costs has not been calculated.”
“(Meanwhile,) Roddy Dunlop QC, acting for Mr Whitehouse, said the businessman wanted answers about why he was arrested, given that the Crown has since said the arrests were malicious.”
“But the Crown Office said its investigations had “disclosed no criminal conduct” to date.”
For the ordinary Rangers fan, the events that followed February 2012 are still very much a raw wound that will never fully heal.
A series of individuals became involved with the club whose impact and intentions were not in the best interests of Rangers FC.
The club is still in recovery from that period and the expected title victory over the next couple of months will go some way to remedy that, from both a football and financial perspective.