FORMER Rangers owner Craig Whyte has been barred from being a company director in the UK for 15 years after a court heard of how he ran the club in a "singularly shocking and reprehensible" way.
The maximum ban available under insolvency legislation was imposed after Court of Session judge Lord Tyre said the case for imposing a period of disqualification on Whyte was "overwhelming."
Lord Tyre added: "He deliberately placed his own interests before those of the company."
The Insolvency Service said the ban partly resulted from Whyte "causing Rangers to enter into an agreement to effectively fund the purchase of its own shares".
This relates to the controversial deal to sell off the rights to three years of Ibrox season tickets to Ticketus to raise more than £20m, which was used to pay off the club's debt with Lloyds - a condition of a share purchase deal with former owner Sir David Murray to buy the club.
But the Insolvency Service said funds raised should have been used to invest in the club and buy players rather than help fund his buyout.
David Thomson, counsel for Business Secretary Vince Cable, said: "His acquisition of Rangers was entirely predicated upon an untruth and the untruth was he would be funding the acquisition using his own personal wealth or that of his company."
The Secretary of State alleged that Whyte had "deliberately and dishonestly" concealed the way in which he had arranged to fund the acquisition of the Rangers shares.
The move came as one of Rangers' four biggest shareholders sold nearly all its shares in the club's operating company. It is understood London-based investment managers Hargreave Hale dumped 4.27m of its 4.42m Rangers International Football Club plc shares at 20p each, recouping £853,000.
Meanwhile, fans group Sons of Struth has threatened a boycott of Rangers, Sports Direct and McGill's Buses unless Sandy Easdale, the football board chairman, is removed from his position of influence.
The fans want Sports Direct and Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to renounce his right to rename Ibrox Stadium, after it was recently revealed by Mr Easdale that Mr Ashley had purchased it for a pound.
The Union of Fans supporters clubs coalition has been concerned Mr Easdale has a power of veto over crucial decisions facing Rangers, because he has voting rights over 26 per cent of the shares, yet is not represented on the board of the operating company. Mr Easdale is chairman of the operating company's football board subsidiary.
Sons of Struth say its poll showed 99 per cent of members wanted Mr Easdale out of Ibrox, 92 per cent backed action against McGill's and 89 per cent were supportive of boycotts at Ibrox. And the RIFC plc board confirmed that it has repaid £1.5m loaned to them by Mr Easdale and businessman George Letham.
The Insolvency Service said that the directorship ban on Craig Whyte in part related to his conducting of the affairs of the club's former operating company, The Rangers Football Club plc (RFC), "without reference to other board directors, preventing RFC from being subject to proper corporate governance".
The Insolvency Service said the grounds also involved Mr Whyte causing RFC, now in liquidation, "to fail to comply with its tax obligations."
Whyte took RFC into administration in February 2012 over non-payment of £9m in PAYE and VAT taxes and the liquidation of the operating firm came in June of that year - just 13 months after he took over the club.
He had previously received a seven-year ban as a director in 2000, a fact that failed to emerge in the public domain until after he purchased the majority stake in Rangers from Mr Murray's company for £1 in May 2011.
Mr Murray sold the club to Whyte on the understanding that he would pay off bank debts - but the money came from selling off future season ticket sales
UK business minister Jo Swinson said: "Such blatant lack of regard for proper corporate behaviour and control does not have a place in modern society. Directors have a clear, statutory duty to ensure that their companies are run properly."
Neither Mr Easdale of McGill's buses nor Mr Mike Ashley of Sports Direct, and owner of Newcastle United, were available for comment.
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