A government agency has gone to court to try to investigate a bankrupt former Scottish Tory donor over alleged misconduct.
The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) agency wants to launch a probe following claims Malcolm Scott did not fully co-operate with administrators who examined his financial collapse.
If the AiB finds against the former millionaire, a range of restrictions could be imposed on him for up to 15 years.
Scott was an Edinburgh-based grain and property tycoon who made more than £1.6 million in corporate and personal donations to the Tories.
He was treasurer of the Scottish party, close to Foreign Secretary William Hague and allowed senior Cabinet figures, including the Prime Minister, use of his private jet.
However, his multi-million-pound business empire disintegrated last year and he was sequestrated - the Scots word for bankruptcy.
In the fallout, his mother, father and wife were also made bankrupt, although his parents are no longer sequestrated.
Scott's problems intensified after a creditor who believed he was concealing information about his assets went to court to try to extend Scott's sequestration by 22 months, which included putting him through a "public examination" in front of a sheriff.
During the closing submissions on Monday, the trustee handling the case revealed the AiB was also involved.
The trustee has applied to the agency for a Bankruptcy Restriction Order (BRO) against Scott, which would ban him from being elected to a local authority and require him to disclose his "status" to a credit provider when seeking credit of more than £500.
At Monday's hearing, on whether to extend Scott's bankruptcy, lawyers acting on behalf of creditors and the trustee expressed scepticism about the tycoon's previous testimony.
Scott had claimed he sold a Range Rover in March 2012 - shortly before his sequestration - to a car dealer for £9000 or £10,000 cash.
He said his wife and a "builder called Dougie" took the money to a friend's house in Edinburgh for safe-keeping but the cash then disappeared. He said: "Someone turned up at [the friend's] door and said 'I've come to pick up the box'."
In court, a lawyer for the trustee said new information cast doubt on the evidence about the car sale. Ranald Macpherson, a solicitor-advocate acting for the creditors, said the way the money disappeared was "not a credible story".
He added that there were also "clear contradictions in the evidence of Mr and Mrs Scott" about a burglary at the couple's former mansion in Kirknewton, and asked the sheriff to "question indeed whether any burglary took place".
In response, Scott spoke of the personal toll of recent times: "My wife put all her personal money into the company, which amounted to over £1m. My mother and father have suffered a similar fate."
He argued that his bankruptcy should not be extended: "I believe that I have paid a heavy price for my mistakes."
The sheriff hearing the case is expected to make a decision in due course.
A spokesperson for AiB said: "On the 28 June 2013, AiB received a Bankruptcy Restriction Order application from the trustee in respect of the debtor Malcolm James Scott.
"AiB made an application to the Sheriff for an extension of time to investigate the alleged misconduct. That application is currently pending at Edinburgh Sheriff Court."
Scott could not be contacted.
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