David Sutherland, the millionaire executive chairman of Inverness-based housebuilder Tulloch Homes, has called in the police to investigate allegations of fraud, The Herald learned yesterday.

David Sutherland, the millionaire executive chairman of Inverness-based housebuilder Tulloch Homes, has called in the police to investigate allegations of fraud, The Herald learned yesterday.

The allegations, brought to the attention of The Herald, are that an employee falsified documents to obtain goods worth more than £20,000.

A spokesman for the Tulloch Homes Group said yesterday: "A letter making allegations has been received and we have now passed this to police.

"This is now a matter for the police."

Sutherland said he had received the letter on Wednesday morning and he contacted the police on Thursday.

The allegations further claim that the descriptions of the goods obtained were "changed" by a supplier to "items that may have been legitimately purchased by Tulloch ".

In April, Tulloch Homes sold a 40% stake to the Bank of Scotland. Sutherland realised more than £20m from this deal.

The bank acquired its stake in the deal worth £27.5m, under which Sutherland remained Tulloch's largest investor with a 43% shareholding, down from the 73% he held previously.

An insider at the Bank of Scotland yesterday con-firmed that Sutherland had contacted the bank about the fraud allegations.

However, a bank spokesman said: "We can't comment. This is a matter for the company."

Northern Constabulary yesterday also confirmed that Sutherland had reported the alleged fraud and that it had also seen the letter, which had been sent to a number of parties.

"We are now conducting inquiries," a Northern Constabulary spokesman said. "The investigation is at an early stage."