Craig Whyte, a former director of Rangers Football Club, has been disqualified from being a company director for 15 years, for “failing to avoid conflict of interest” in the running of the club.

The disqualification by the Insolvency Service starts on 21 October.

Whyte was the chairman of Rangers, which was placed into administration in February 2012 and was subsequently wound up by the Court of Session in Scotland in October 2012. He was also a director of Tixway UK Ltd, which was wound up by Court of Session in Scotland in July 2012.

Business Minister Jo Swinson said:

1. “Mr Whyte bought a much-loved club, and promised fans that he would provide further cash to bring success.
2. “However, he caused the club to use this money to fund the purchase of its own shares, reducing funds for investment.
3. He also failed to consult other directors on important decisions meaning that his behaviour went unchallenged.
4. “Such blatant lack of regard for proper corporate behaviour and control does not have a place in modern society.”

The grounds of the petition for the disqualification are that Whyte failed to act in accordance with his duties as a director to promote the interests of the company and to avoid conflicts of interest including:

1. Causing RFC to enter into an agreement to effectively fund the purchase of its own shares
2. Conducting the affairs of RFC without reference to other board directors, preventing RFC from being subject to proper corporate governance
3. Causing RFC to fail to comply with its tax obligations