Police investigating two Scottish Championship side Rangers takeovers in the past four years have "raided Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley’s Derbyshire" HQ, according to John McGarry of the London DAILY MAIL. Officers from Police Scotland traveled south on Tuesday as "part of their ongoing investigation into the acquisition of the club" by businessman Craig Whyte in '11 and businessman Charles Green the following year. Detectives "spent several hours at the offices in Shirebrook, near Mansfield, where Ashley's sportswear empire is based" (DAILY MAIL, 5/6). The London GUARDIAN reported the investigation is "not aimed at Sports Direct and the company is cooperating fully." In a statement, Sports Direct said, "The police investigation is not directed at Sports Direct or at any of its directors or employees. The police were seeking documentation which might assist the investigation. Sports Direct has co-operated fully and will continue to cooperate in the provision of information that the police request" (GUARDIAN, 5/6). In London, Malcom Moore reported a spokesperson for Police Scotland "declined to comment further but denied that the police had tipped off the media about the visit." A spokesperson for Sports Direct "declined to comment on whether Mr Ashley, who began building a stake in Rangers last October, had any links" to Whyte (FINANCIAL TIMES, 5/6).
