The dodgy dad of disgraced former Rangers owner Craig Whyte has been banned from being a company director after a Daily Record probe.
Our revelations on Thomas Whyte’s shameful Fortress Restructuring Ltd company led to a formal inquiry by the Insolvency Service in 2021.
It was subsequently discovered that Whyte had wrongfully claimed a £50,000 bounceback loan.
That - coupled with the revelations in the Record - led to the firm being compulsorily wound up.
It has now been revealed that Thomas Whyte, 76, has been slapped with a 10 year ban from being a company director.
He joins his son on the Companies House sin bin.
Craig Whyte is currently serving a 15 year ban for his conduct during his time at the helm of Rangers, which took the club to its knees in 2012.
The Daily Record’s original revelations, in August, 2020, told how we taped phone calls with Craig Whyte, who was passing himself off as his dad.
The Whytes were charging unscrupulous businesses a fee for a masterclass in how to wind up businesses and walk away from tax and other debt, as well a dodging paying redundancy money to any staff who get left in the lurch.
Rob Clarke, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Bounce Back Loans were for trading companies adversely affected by the pandemic and to be spent on legitimate business expenses.
“The fact that Fortress had filed dormant accounts, and only £949 had passed through its bank account should have made it abundantly clear to Thomas Whyte that his company was not entitled to a £50,000 loan, yet he took it anyway and used the majority of that money for his own benefit.
“We thank the liquidator for their efforts which have seen £37,500 recovered, and repeat that we will not hesitate to take action against directors who have abused Covid-19 financial support in this manner.”
The Record’s initial investigation was launched after we were tipped off that Craig Whyte was involved in the shady business of Fortress Restructuring.
During taped phone calls, our reporter recognised the voice on the phone instantly as Craig Whyte, who sounds nothing like his elderly dad.
Our findings were backed up by a renowned voice recognition expert.
Tom later claimed at a face-to-face meeting it was he who had earlier spoken to our man on the phone, laying down details of the immoral debt-busting schemes.
Thomas Whyte was the sole listed director and shareholder of Fortress Restructuring Ltd until it was wound up following the Insolvency Service investigation in February 2021.
In May 2020, Whyte applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for the company, stating on the application that its turnover was £250,000.
In October 2020 - two months after the Record’s bombshell revelations on the shocking services being offered by Fortress - Thomas Whyte advised the Insolvency Service that it had no trading address, had never traded and was not currently trading.
He was caught up in the web of lies.
Following the liquidation, investigators discovered that up to the end of April 2019, accounts filed with Companies House showed that Fortress Restructuring Ltd was dormant, and the company’s only asset was £100 share capital.
On the day Whyte applied for the loan, the company in fact had just £203 in its bank account, and less than £1,000 had been received into it over the preceding year.
The Secretary of State for Business petitioned for the company to be wound up in the public interest, which happened in February, 2021.
Despite the net closing in, brazen Thomas Whyte refused to let the authorities claw back the cash shamelessly taking £26,000 from the companies bank account after the Insolvency Service sent a petition to wind up the company.
The Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Thomas Whyte on 7 February 2023.
He did not dispute he had applied for a Bounce Back Loan for his company to which it was not entitled, and had disposed of substantial funds when he knew, or ought to have known, the company was being wound up.
His ban begins on 28 February 2023 and lasts for 10 years.
The disqualification prevents him from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
The company’s liquidator has recovered £37,500 from Whyte towards the £50,000 owed.
That means the twister has managed to escape with £12,500 of taxpayer cash, despite his disgraceful conduct.
Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.
