Scots rugby legend and farmer Jim Aitken has been named as one of the four people who have been arrested over an allegation of fraud in relation to the collapsed grain merchants Alexander Inglis and Son (AIS). The other three people arrested were Mr Aitken's 48-year-old director son Neil, 49-year-old quality assurance manager Colin Wright and 76-year-old company secretary Margaret Anderson.
The 75-year-old former Scotland rugby captain turned businessman, was the majority shareholder of East-Lothian based grain when it collapsed in May, 2021.
He bought what became one of the UK’s leading suppliers of grain and cereals to the whisky and distilling industries, after captaining the Scottish Grand Slam side that won the 1984 Five Nations Championship.
The collapse was seen by some as one of the worst financial disasters to hit Scottish agriculture in the modern era and administrators anticipated a total deficit of around £80m.
READ MORE: Grain merchant Alexander Inglis collapse leads to arrests
The arrests came against a background of a legal row over 'missing grain' as major companies laid claim two years ago to stock estimated initially to be worth £30m but is since said to have doubled.
Police Scotland have not confirmed that the arrests are connected to that dispute.
It is understood that all four arrests made by Police Scotland involved members of the company board before the firm fell into insolvency.
The individuals are yet been charged with any offences and a report is to be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
Farmers made up more than one-third of the 166 unsecured creditors which were owed more than £6m. The latest administrator's report suggests that unsecured creditors are only likely to get a maximum of £600,000 back.
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