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' Football Star Bankrupt with £1.4mill in Debts '

Tue Jul 25, 2017 3:28 pm

Former Rangers star Barry Ferguson declared bankrupt with debts of more than £1.4 million


Tuesday 25th July 2017


By Stuart MacDonald

FORMER Rangers star Barry Ferguson has been made bankrupt with debts of more than £1.4 million.

The ex-Scotland captain was declared insolvent after failing to settle large bills thought to be owed to the taxman.

He is one of a number of former Ibrox stars who faced paying back money they had received in Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) after Rangers lost a battle with HMRC at the Supreme Court earlier this month.

Ferguson, 39, who recently stepped down as manager of Clyde, received £2.5 million in EBT payments.


He also invested in a film production partnership called Eclipse which has targeted by HMRC after being ruled to be a tax avoidance scheme.

Ferguson applied for his own bankruptcy after running up debts of £1,425,633 and it was approved by the Accountant In Bankruptcy, Scotland's insolvency service, earlier this month.

A bankruptcy trustee, Maureen Leslie of Glasgow-based insolvency specialists MLM Solutions, has been appointed to take control of his assets and try to recover money owed to creditors. She said she did not comment on individual cases.


Ferguson, who lives in a gated mansion near Larkhall, Lanarkshire, has declared that he has only £3,000 worth of assets available to help pay off his creditors.

The so-called Rangers 'big tax case' centred on the use of EBTs. More than £47million was paid to players, managers and directors between 2001 and 2010 in tax-free loans.

Earlier this month judges found that 'loans' paid to players and staff were in fact taxable earnings, in a decision that brought to a close legal proceedings that have dragged on for years.
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Re: ' Football Star Bankrupt with £1.4mill in Debts '

Tue Jul 25, 2017 6:21 pm

Totally unacceptable. I got into debt 15 yrs ago and still paying it off.make an example out of him, earns millions and avoids paying tax.f##k him I say

Re: ' Football Star Bankrupt with £1.4mill in Debts '

Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:53 pm

stuey1965 wrote:Totally unacceptable. I got into debt 15 yrs ago and still paying it off.make an example out of him, earns millions and avoids paying tax.f##k him I say


You will probably find Ferguson has a Limited company so his debts and liquidation are restricted to his company.

Walk away from the debt but keep his house and personal assets.

Re: ' Football Star Bankrupt with £1.4mill in Debts '

Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:54 pm

person vs hmrc is nobodies business but theirs

Re: ' Football Star Bankrupt with £1.4mill in Debts '

Wed Jul 26, 2017 8:58 am

He's currently in a 5 star hotel in Albuifura

Re: ' Football Star Bankrupt with £1.4mill in Debts '

Wed Jul 26, 2017 1:38 pm

Wayne S wrote:
stuey1965 wrote:Totally unacceptable. I got into debt 15 yrs ago and still paying it off.make an example out of him, earns millions and avoids paying tax.f##k him I say


You will probably find Ferguson has a Limited company so his debts and liquidation are restricted to his company.

Walk away from the debt but keep his house and personal assets.


It is a Trustee appointed over his personal assets in a bankruptcy, not a liquidation of a company.

There is a long list of other former Rangers players/ managers/ a former owner published by a Scottish newspaper some years ago that I was sent a copy of at the time which I will try and dig out and provide a link to as and when I get time ( or just google Glasgow Rangers EBT case) who may face similar problems with HMRC , and the list includes a couple of former CCFC players plus quite a few players who were very well known names in the game at the time.HMRC can't pursue the now liquidated football club company for the money, so are now going after the players for recovery of the tax which was avoided by the scheme that has now been judged to be an illegal tax avoidance scheme.