It owed substantial amounts to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who subsequently refused to allow Rangers to exit administration via a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).
The refusal of the CVA forced the administrators to sell the business and assets of Rangers to a new company named Sevco Scotland Ltd, operated by Charles Green.
[38] On 6 May 2011 David Murray sold his controlling interest in the club (85.3 percent) to Wavetower Limited, a company solely owned by Craig Whyte, for £1.
[39][40] Murray later said that he had sold to Whyte because he had pledged to pay off the bank debt, settle the 'wee tax case' and invest money in the playing squad and stadium.
[41][40] To enable the purchase and to pay off the debt to Lloyds, Whyte borrowed £26.7 million against future season ticket sales from the Ticketus firm.
[59] Duff & Phelps announced in October 2012 that creditors had approved an end to their administration and that they had applied to the Court of Session for BDO to be appointed as liquidator.
[61] On 25 June 2012, the Crown Office asked Strathclyde Police to investigate the purchase of Rangers and the club's subsequent financial management.
[70] Most of the funds were obtained from a successful legal action against Collyer Bristow, the firm of solicitors that acted for Craig Whyte during his takeover of Rangers.
[70] A report by BDO published in June 2019, and more widely publicised by The Times newspaper five months later, stated that the amount claimed by HMRC would be significantly reduced from a maximum of £94 million.
[74][75] Following the rejection of the CVA, the business and assets of Rangers were sold to Sevco Scotland Ltd, a company owned by a consortium led by Charles Green.
"[85] On 20 June 2012, it was reported that two Glasgow businessmen, housebuilders and property developers Allan Stewart and Stephen McKenna were preparing a bid for the club worth about £11m.
Prominent former Rangers player John Brown had been involved in the bids and made a further attempt to take control by leading a supporter buyout of Green's consortium.
[87] Brown left his position as transfer scout after a meeting with Green and told 5,000 demonstrating supporters at Ibrox Stadium not to renew their season tickets, to "starve" them of funds and force them out.
[88] Brown challenged Green to show the title deeds to Ibrox and Murray Park, because he suspected that Craig Whyte or Ticketus retained an interest in the assets.
St Johnstone chairman Steve Brown declared that he would in principle oppose an automatic re-entry depending on the extent of the sanctions and conditions,[102] while Motherwell chose to vote on the basis of fan and shareholder opinion.
[103] Newly promoted Ross County were relatively quiet on the issue, claiming that they would take into consideration the views of other clubs before making their decision.
Notable opponents to direct entry included Raith Rovers chairman Turnbull Hutton,[108] who said that lower league clubs were being "bullied, rail-roaded and lied to" and described the conduct of the governing bodies as being "corrupt".
[112] Sevco Scotland Ltd agreed to accept all conditions relating to charges against Rangers FC of bringing the game into disrepute, including a 12-month transfer embargo, the payment of all outstanding fines and football debts, and agreement on broadcasting rights.
The Scottish Premier League retained its right to the potential application of sanctions, including an investigation into the clubs use of EBTs and any penalties that may be applied as a result of it.
[112] The decision allowed Rangers to complete their first fixture just two days later, a Ramsdens Cup tie against Brechin City at Glebe Park.
[120][121] Steven Naismith, one of the players who chose not transfer his contract to the new company under TUPE regulations, justified his position by stating that he had no loyalty to the new regime.
[127][128][129] In 2013 numerous complaints were made to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), after Rangers produced marketing materials which stated they were "Scotland’s most successful club".
[132] In May 2015, Scottish newspapers published articles which purported that the governing body FIFA had 'stepped in' on the debate,[133] or had even 'insisted' that Rangers were the same club,[134] but the organisation had not made any official comment on the matter.
[136] In late 2012, the SPL set up an investigation, chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith, into alleged use of dual contracts by Rangers through the EBT scheme.
[137][138] David Murray denied any cheating took place during his ownership of Rangers,[139] while Alastair Johnston and Charles Green questioned the independence of the investigation.
[149][150][151][152] Despite the Supreme Court ruling on the EBTs differing to the verdict in place at the time of the Nimmo Smith enquiry, the SPFL stated there would be no fresh investigation into the matter[153] after receiving no support from the SFA.
[166][167] On 6 June 2017, after a lengthy trial at the Justiciary Buildings in Glasgow (with Donald Findlay acting as his defence attorney), Whyte was acquitted of all charges.
[38][37] In September 2017, the SFA stated they may be obliged to look into the matter again after the trial of Craig Whyte, during which it was alleged that the Rangers directors knew they would be held liable for the tax amount when the UEFA licence was granted.
[181] In their first season back in the top tier, Rangers finished in third position behind Celtic and Aberdeen and qualified for the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League; the return to European football after a five-year absence ended abruptly with a shock defeat to part-time club Progrès Niederkorn from Luxembourg in the opening round.
[183] It also ended a run of nine consecutive championships won by Celtic, who had hoped to set a new Scottish record by winning a tenth title in a row.