FORMER Rangers chairman Alastair Johnston has asked a Government enforcement body to investigate Craig Whyte's takeover of the club, citing allegations that "certain financial arrangements of concern were executed by the buyer".

His formal request for an investigation, made to the Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate of the Insolvency Service, follows allegations that Mr Whyte raised millions of pounds of funding against many thousands of future Rangers season tickets in a deal with the Ticketus offshoot of private equity house Octopus.

It is understood former owner Sir David Murray's Murray Group has also now sought clarification from Mr Whyte's team about the funding of the takeover of Rangers.

A spokesman for Rangers chairman Mr Whyte last night declared he had "nothing to fear from any investigation by any agency".

Mr Johnston said: "I have had numerous approaches following the recent revelations in the press about the acquisition of Rangers Football Club and the use of future season ticket money.

"I am not in a position to answer all the questions put to me, but I do recognise the issue is causing much concern. I believe this is a prevalent view amongst Rangers stakeholders who are now demanding full transparency about the funding of the acquisition of the club, its current financial status and, most importantly, the way forward."

He added: "In order to allow all of the options potentially available to stabilise the club to be explored, there must be total disclosure of all the underlying obstacles that need to be surmounted in order to achieve this.

"Therefore, in my capacity as the chairman of the club during the period when it has been alleged that certain financial arrangements of concern were executed by the buyer, I have formally requested that the Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate investigate and clarify this matter once and for all, which is surely in the interests of all concerned."

The Insolvency Service notes on its website that it has "civil, fact-finding powers" in company investigations. It emphasises that it can investigate companies which are "actively trading", and not just insolvency situations.

Mr Whyte has denied using supporters' money to fund his acquisition of 85% of the club, which included payment of £1 for the shareholding controlled by Sir David and the assumption of about £18 million of debt which had been owed previously to Lloyds Banking Group.

It has been reported that lawyers, on behalf of Ticketus, deposited £24.4m into a client account of Collyer Bristow, Mr Whyte's lawyer for the bid. It is understood that this account was crucial in persuading Sir David that Mr Whyte had the funds necessary to buy Rangers.

The spokesman for Mr Whyte said: "The chairman and the current board of Rangers Football Club have nothing to fear from any investigation by any agency and deplores the continually misguided criticism by former board members

who presided over the near-collapse of Rangers.

"The chairman also re-affirms that, post-takeover, the club continued to face financial obligations, including payment to the Ticketus agency."

A spokeswoman for the Insolvency Service, an arm of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), told The Herald this week: "We wouldn't confirm or deny if we were investigating a live company, as is standard practice."

Nobody from the Insolvency Service was available for comment last night, following Mr Johnston's statement.

Asked about London-based Octopus's deal with Mr Whyte, and whether the private equity firm had any security in respect of the funding it had advanced, John Thorpe, investment manager at Octopus, replied: "It is pretty simple and straightforward but unhelpful in terms of what I am able to say or not say in terms of this conversation.

"We deal with a lot of different clubs. We are happy with the commercial terms we agreed. Our view hasn't changed since then.

"We have already discussed more than I am comfortable with in confirming we do have a deal with Glasgow Rangers."

Nobody from Octopus was available last night for comment, following Mr Johnston's revelation that he had asked the Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate to investigate the takeover of Rangers.

A spokesman for Murray Group said: "Following recent press allegations we have also sought clarification of the financing and security arrangements which the purchaser appears to have put in place."

He added: "We can confirm that, at the time of the takeover, there was no debt owed by the club to Ticketus."

The Intelligence and Enforcement Directorate is part of the "Investigations and Enforcement Services" unit of the Insolvency Service.

This unit "carries out a range of activities aimed at supporting fair and open markets and, where necessary, taking steps to safeguard those markets from companies and individuals whose conduct is not conducive to the public interest".

It undertakes enforcement activities under the powers available in the Insolvency Acts 1986 and 2000, the Company Directors Disqualifications Act 1986 and the Companies Act 1985.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) declined to comment on whether or not it was investigating Mr Whyte's acquisition of Rangers with a spokesman citing "taxpayer confidentiality".

It has been reported that £5m may be due in value-added tax on the Ticketus transaction.

And Mr Thorpe declined to comment when asked if VAT was payable on the Ticketus transaction relating to Rangers.

Mr Whyte said in a statement to supporters on January 31: "The club is accused of not paying £5m in VAT. Not true."

Rangers shares have been suspended on the PLUS stock market, in line with its rules, after a delay in filing its audited accounts. It has so far published only unaudited accounts for the year to last June.

The club had told the PLUS market on January 9 that it believed the audit would be finalised "on or around 31 January 2012".

A spokeswoman for auditor Grant Thornton declined to comment on the situation regarding the audit when asked by The Herald this week.