Rangers fraud trial: Jury urged to convict Craig Whyte

Craig Whyte took over at Rangers in 2011

A jury has been asked to convict former Rangers owner Craig Whyte of acquiring the club by fraud in May 2011.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the High Court in Glasgow that Mr Whyte took over the football club using money that he was not entitled to.

During his closing speech, Mr Prentice also said Mr Whyte had tried to conceal his funding source for buying the club.

Mr Whyte denies a charge of fraud, and a second charge under the Companies Act.

The prosecution QC told the jury of eight men and seven women that the case was not a public inquiry into how Rangers was run at a corporate level, but was about whether or not Craig Whyte had committed fraud.

'Historical governance'

He said Mr Whyte and his company Wavetower had no right to money used to purchase the club.

Prosecutors state the sums said to have been "immediately available" actually consisted of money from Ticketus, investment firm Merchant Turnaround and the Jerome Group pensions fund.

Mr Prentice put it to the jury that Mr Whyte bought Rangers using money that he was not entitled to and that he actively concealed his funding sources.

He also asked the jury to discount testimony that related to the historical governance of Rangers before Mr Whyte became the club's new owner in May 2011.

He said: "Evidence in relation to historical governance of Rangers is irrelevant.

"It doesn't relate to whether Mr Whyte had the money on completion of the Rangers takeover."

Craig Whyte denies the charges against him.

The trial, before judge Lady Stacey, continues.