Nearly £40m bill for Rangers wrongful prosecution case

The cost of litigation relating to the Rangers wrongful prosecution scandal has reached almost £40m, Scottish government accounts show.

Compensation payments were made after several people involved in the administration and acquisition of the football club were wrongly prosecuted.

A judge-led inquiry into the matter is to take place once outstanding legal proceedings have concluded.

The government's consolidated accounts say total costs were £39.92m.

• Inquiry into prosecution of Rangers administrators

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The cost is described in the accounts, released earlier this week, as "involvement with civil litigation brought against the Lord Advocate by individuals prosecuted in connection with the acquisition and administration of Rangers Football Club".

Administrators David Whitehouse and Paul Clark were appointed administrators when the company that ran Rangers went into administration in 2012.

They were arrested in 2014 but all charges were later dropped.

The Crown has since said their prosecution was "malicious" and both men were awarded £10.5m each in damages.

The previous Lord Advocate also admitted former chief executive Charles Green and former director Imran Ahmad should never have been prosecuted, with Mr Green receiving more than £6m in compensation plus legal costs.

Reporting on the latest costs on Saturday, the Daily Record said previous estimates had been £35m.

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: "The previous Lord Advocate committed the Crown to support a judge-led inquiry once all litigation is over and apologised for the cost to the public purse.

"There are long-standing and robust processes in place to minimise the possibility that wrongful prosecutions are brought.

"We have strengthened these through case management panels which provide additional scrutiny and direction from senior prosecutors."

A Scottish government spokesman said: "The entry in the Scottish government accounts reflects the total costs arising relating to the civil litigation associated with certain individuals associated with Rangers FC.

"The costs arising in respect of these cases has not been met from the [Crown Office] resource allocation.

"The overall budget is managed across the Scottish government and, as happens every year, any overall funding changes required to support expenditure are confirmed as part of budget revisions and appears in the Scottish government accounts at the appropriate time."