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A PRIVATE investigation commissioned for Rangers showed Craig Whyte had a record of tax avoidance, failed companies and double dealings – before he was sold Sir David Murray’s majority shareholding.

The Record has obtained a copy of the report. It was presented to Murray and some of the directors meant to monitor the sale, including chief executive Martin Bain and chairman Alastair Johnston.

Our revelations come as the Insolvency Service investigate the actions of Rangers directors during Whyte’s takeover.

The report, prepared by private investigators Titon, described Monaco-based Whyte as a “fuyant” – French slang for an evader or manipulator.

It warned there was no evidence to back claims circulated by Whyte’s spin doctors that he was a billionaire with plenty of cash to finance Rangers.

In fact, it said, there was no evidence he was even a multi-millionaire. The report talks of “the questionable source and extent of his reported wealth”.

This should have raised concerns that Whyte could not keep his pledge to spend £27.5million on the takeover.

That in turn should have sparked fears that the cash would have to come from elsewhere– either from debt, or from cash raised on future season ticket sales.

Titon also found that Whyte had used a false birth date when registering as a director of 16 separate companies.

He registered using the date of January 18, 1969, instead of his true date of birth, January 18, 1971.

This would make it look like Whyte was involved with fewer companies than was actually the case, since a search of records at Companies House would not show up all his directorships.

Titon said: “It is possible that these entries were made in error.

“However, one would question how there could be 16 such discrepancies, and of these businesses all but one have since dissolved.”

The report gave detailed information on Whyte’s string of worthless directorships and failed companies.

Titon found that Whyte was appointed secretary and director of a company called Zemfill plc on August 31, 2010, then resigned as director the

following day.

They also found clear evidence of Whyte’s methods when it came to tax.

The report highlighted how his failed companies put money into other Whyte businesses – instead of paying the taxman.

This tax avoidance should have been a clear warning that Whyte might fail to meet his tax obligations at Rangers.

The investigators said one of Whyte’s companies, Vital Holdings Ltd, owed £500,000 in corporation tax when their final accounts were filed in 1997.

According to Titon, the bill was not paid. Shares were instead bought in two other Whyte companies, Hire Access Group Ltd and Vital Plant Services Ltd.

Titon wrote: “It would seem that the company avoided meeting its tax liability by divesting funds elsewhere across Craig’s other businesses.”

The investigators said Whyte arrived in Monaco in 1999, amid reports that he was facing a probe over non-payment of PAYE bills for staff at one of his businesses in Britain.

Rangers were forced into administration, then liquidation, after Whyte took the decision not to pay the club’s PAYE bills.

The investigators also found that a string of Whyte companies had not filed tax returns. Again, he would use the same tactic at Rangers.

Titon wrote on the first page of their report: “Our findings to date raise some clear areas of concern, which range from alleged billionaire fortune that is in no way substantiated through business, to commercial relationships associated with financial anomalies.”

The investigators highlighted complaints about Whyte’s business dealings in Monaco.

They wrote that he never bought any real estate or registered companies in the principality.

To do so, he would have had to register as a permanent resident, which would have meant enrolment in the local police database and due diligence and credit worthiness checks.

Titon said there were rumours that Whyte had left his luxury Monaco apartment without paying the last month’s rent, but the claims “could not be formally substantiated”.

The report said Whyte acted on behalf of a company called First Capital Securities SA, seeking clients from France, Switzerland, Germany and Russia, without authorisation and without declaring it to the Monaco authorities.

First Capital were “based in Switzerland, but officially declared bankrupt by the Swiss magistrates court”.

Titon said Whyte had also operated under the name Liberty Capital Ltd.

The investigators added: “A series of financial complaints and civil disputes have been raised against Craig operating under these company names.

“The complaints are based on finding the owner of these business entities, in order to recover funds.

“In the local French lingo, he has been described as a ‘fuyant’ – evader as well as a clever manipulator.”

Titon listed a string of companies Whyte either controlled or was involved in which had been “struck off” or “dissolved” soon after being formed.

They warned: “Some of the companies dissolved as quickly as they had started, such as CSS Ltd and USG Ltd, ISS 1996 Ltd, VPS 1996 Ltd and HAG 1996 Ltd.

“Such company management does not reflect the success Craig is reported to have achieved.

“Some of the companies still had outstanding charges on file at the time of dissolution.

“Some refer to the subject as a ‘billionaire’ or ‘multi-millionaire’. However, it could not be possible that he amassed such a large personal fortune from these companies alone.”

Whyte was disqualified as a company director for seven years in 2000, but the investigators made no mention of the ban.

Rangers directors had access to the findings of the due diligence probe into Whyte at least two weeks before the sale was agreed.

Sir David Murray last night declined to comment on the Titon report.

Sources close to Murray emphasised that there was no legal reason not to sell the club to Whyte.

They said both Whyte and his lawyers had provided proof that they had the funds needed to clear the club’s debt, and that Murray had not known Whyte had financed the deal by giving the rights to future season ticket sales to London-based firm Ticketus.

The Insolvency Service have confirmed that their Investigations and Enforcement Directorate are considering the conduct of Rangers directors.

They are looking at the actions of the board ahead of the sale to Whyte, as well as what went on after the takeover.

A spokesman said: “Each case has its own merits and complexities.”

He said the Service had no knowledge of the Titon report, and he could not comment on anything which could form part of any investigation.