POLICE have carried out a series of raids as part of a criminal investigation into the purchase of Rangers Football Club by Craig Whyte from Sir David Murray.
Police Scotland said it had carried out a number of searches at addresses in Scotland and England.
It is believed the raids yesterday morning related to properties and business premises linked to Whyte, including his Scottish home, Castle Grant, near Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands.
The move came a day after it emerged that Whyte was ordered to pay nearly £18 million to the finance firm Ticketus after losing a claim at the High Court in London.
London-based Ticketus, which provided the money to secure future season ticket rights while helping the businessman purchase Rangers two years ago, said it had also been awarded interest and costs after Whyte failed to divulge he had served a company director ban.
Meanwhile, club chief executive Charles Green has been issued with a Scottish Football Association (SFA) notice of complaint, accusing him of breaching two rules in relation to "offensive and racist" comments.
Stewart Regan, chief executive of the SFA, said: "It's very surprising and it's frustrating when we are all trying to build a stronger and more positive game."
Mr Green admitted to occasionally using a racist term to refer to his friend and colleague Imran Ahmad. Yesterday he made an unreserved apology for any offence caused.
Last night, Police Scotland said searches were carried out under warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into Whyte's acquisition of Rangers, which he bought from Sir David for just £1 in May 2011. The club went into administration in February the following year.
Police Scotland said in a statement: "These searches related to both domestic and business premises.
"This remains an ongoing investigation, and no further information can be provided at this stage."
The Crown Office asked Strathclyde Police to probe the purchase and the club's financial management in June last year. Prosecutors said at the time they would look into alleged criminality during the process.
Before being confirmed as owner, Whyte set up a deal to complete the purchase of the club by selling off the rights to four years of Rangers season tickets to Ticketus to raise £18m.
Most of that was used to pay off the club's debt with Lloyds Banking Group, a condition of the club sale.
The club entered administration on February 14, 2012, over alleged non-payment of £9m in PAYE and VAT, and police have been looking into whether Whyte ran up debts while the club was effectively insolvent.
Court papers show legal advisers for the club's administrators told the Court of Session they believed the Ticketus deal was illegal on the grounds it was indirectly providing financial assistance for the acquisition of Rangers's shares, contrary to the Companies Act 2006.
A year after the company that ran Rangers went into administration, Whyte said he would happily co-operate with any investigation looking into his takeover and the subsequent insolvency.
The raids came as it emerged a preliminary ruling by a High Court master, a procedural judge, decided Whyte had not declared his business background in setting up the deal with Ticketus, part of Octopus Investments.
The court had ruled Whyte failed to disclose he had been a banned director when he signed for the finance in return for season ticket rights.
The Ticketus action comes 17 months after it was revealed that Whyte was handed a seven-year ban from serving as a director in 2000.
The London agency said it would never have entered into the deal with Whyte if it had known he had served a boardroom disqualification.
The company described these as "serious and deliberate misrepresentations".
A spokesman for Ticketus said yesterday: "The judgment consequently is for damages of £17.7m, which is the total amount Ticketus invested through the ticket purchase agreement. Further interest of around £680,000 and costs have also been awarded."
Ticketus will now seek payment of these sums from Whyte, whose spokesman said: "He will now be taking his appeal to the High Court."
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