FORMER Scotland international footballer Billy McKinlay has been made bankrupt with debts of almost £700,000.
The ex-Dundee United and Blackburn Rovers star was declared insolvent after failing to settle large bills thought to be owed to the taxman.
He was an investor in a film production investment scheme which has seen several ex-footballers, including former Rangers captain Barry Ferguson, go bust.
McKinlay, 48, put money into a scheme called Eclipse which was targeted by HMRC after being ruled to be a tax avoidance scheme.
The midfielder's career highlights included playing for Scotland at Euro 1996 and the World Cup in 1998.
He applied for his own bankruptcy after running up debts of £686,245 and it was approved by the Accountant In Bankruptcy, Scotland’s insolvency service, earlier this month.
A bankruptcy trustee, Antonia McIntyre of Glasgow-based insolvency specialists MLM Solutions, has been appointed to take control of his assets and try to recover money owed to creditors.
McKinlay, who lives in Weybridge, Surrey, has declared that he has only £2,705 worth of assets available to help pay off his creditors.
McKinlay was previously listed as a director with Eclipse Film Partners No.9, a scheme which allowed investors the opportunity to claim tax relief through investing in the production of movies.
In April last year, the Supreme Court upheld a judgement that one of the biggest partnerships, Eclipse 35, was a tax-avoidance scheme.
HMRC has used that judgement to issue demands to investors, who include several footballers and managers, in the other 38 similar partnerships.
McKinlay was capped 45 times for his country between 1993 and 1998 and scored four goals.
After making more than 200 appearances for Dundee United he signed for Blackburn Rovers in a £1.75 million deal in 1995.
He also had spells with Leicester City and Fulham.
Since retiring from the game, he has been a coach at Watford and Fulham and was David Moyes’s assistant during his spell in Spain with Real Sociedad.
He was appointed manager of Norwegian side Stabæk Fotball in November 2015, but left after less than a year in the role.
McKinlay joins a list of former footballers who have gone bust in recent years including Chris Sutton, Craig Beattie, Colin Hendry, Rab Douglas, Kevin Drinkell and Bobby Petta.
Former Rangers star Gordon Durie was also declared bankrupt last year, with debts of more than £200,000 after investing in a film production scheme.
Ex-Celtic star Darren Jackson was another footballer listed as a director with Eclipse Film Partners No.9. He was declared bankrupt in December 2015, with debts of £270,000.
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