FORMER Dunfermline Athletic owner Gavin Masterton has gone bankrupt with debts of more than £1.1 million.
Mr Masterton, a former managing director of the Bank of Scotland, was declared insolvent after failing to settle large bills linked to his involvement with the Fife club.
He was the sole shareholder in Charlestown Holdings Ltd (CHL), which owned the Scottish League 1 club until its financial problems ended in administration last year.
However, he was forced into bankruptcy after current Dunfermline director Kip McBay took legal action to have CHL liquidated earlier this month over its failure to repay a loan to him.
Mr Masterton, 72, applied for his own bankruptcy after running up debts of £1,133,850 and it has been approved by the Accountant In Bankruptcy, Scotland's insolvency service.
A trustee, Anne Buchanan, of Glasgow insolvency practitioners BDO, has been appointed to take control of his assets and try to recover money owed to creditors.
Mr Masterton, of Dunfermline, has declared no assets.
He admitted last month the legal action by Mr McBay "has resulted in an irretrievable financial position for CHL" and would "inevitably lead to my personal bankruptcy".
The former banker said his involvement with Dunfermline had cost the company and his family about £9m.
The loan from Mr McBay was originally made to CHL in 2010 and Mr Masterton said some of the money was immediately invested in the football club, with the loan due to be repaid by August 2014.
It was not repaid and an offer to spread the payments over a longer period was refused.
Speaking last month, Mr Masterton said: "Perhaps the only upside of the whole sorry debacle associated with the administration of Dunfermline Athletic Football Club (DAFC) was that the football club could remain a going concern with possibly the best opportunity to move forward under new stewardship.
"However, that in no way compensates for the stress that my family and I have been subject to for an extended period of time.
"It is also highly disappointing to see long-term friendships cast aside because of what went on in the lead-up to, during, and since the administration of DAFC.
"The administration of DAFC resulted in CHL, and my family, having to write off around £9m of its combined investment in the football club.
"The action by Mr McBay has therefore made what was already a very difficult overall trading situation wholly untenable and has resulted in an irretrievable financial position for CHL. This will also inevitably lead to my personal bankruptcy."
Earlier this year, Mr Masteron was forced to deny claims he was given "preferential treatment" by the Bank of Scotland when nearly all of a £12.2m loan he secured from it was written off.
His former employers gave the loan to Dunfermline, secured against the club's stadium, in 2008.
The majority of the balance was written off after the club went into administration last year.
Mr Masterton defended securing the controversial loan and blamed the economic downturn for most of it being cleared by the bank.
Dunfermline were saved when fans group Pars United took control of the club in October last year.
Mr Masterton was yesterday unavailable for comment.
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