Sir Brian Souter has said he feels "disappointed" over allegations of sexual assault made against former First Minister Alex Salmond.
The billionaire founder of the Stagecoach transport empire is a friend of Mr Salmond and donated more than £2 million to the SNP during his leadership.
Sir Brian, 64, talked about Mr Salmond in a speech to Destiny Church, a Christian sect based in Glasgow reported in The Times newspaper.
Mr Salmond has been charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and two of attempted rape, which he denies.
Read more: Former First Minister arrested and charged
Sir Brian told the congregation: "Have you ever been really disappointed with someone that you really held in high regard?
"I met with Alex Salmond at the airport a few months ago. I know him quite well and I like Alec. I'm not a fairweather friend. We had a good chat about things.
"I can't tell you whether this [court case] is right. I hope he gets justice and I hope his alleged victims get justice too.
"I can't say anything about that, but I would say this to you: I was disappointed, just that there's a situation at all."
Mr Salmond, 64, was charged with nine charges of sexual assault, two of attempted rape, two of indecent assault and one of breach of the peace when he appeared at Edinburgh sheriff court in January.
He entered no plea during the short hearing, but told reporters he was not guilty, stating: "The only thing I can say is I refute absolutely these allegations of criminality and I will defend myself to the utmost in court."
Sir Brian went on to tell the audience he was looking forward to the second coming of Christ, adding: "There is a theology out there that says that the age of miracles and the supernatural was only for 30 years after Jesus was on Earth.
"That is false theology. It doesn't say that in my Bible. The supernatural needs to be manifest in this world."
Read more: Souter cricises wealthy for being self-obsessed
Sir Brian, a member of the evangelical Church of the Nazarene, praised Pope Francis as a "great guy", but was critical of the Catholic Church as well as the Church of England.
He said: "I turned my television on the other week and there was this big council at the Vatican. I was not seeing much power. I'm seeing a lot of pomp and a lot of ceremony."
Destiny Church was founded in Glasgow in 1990. It's founder, Andrew Owen, a Welsh evangelist, describes himself as an apostle and claims to have met people who had been raised from the dead.
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