Ian Hamilton suing RBS for fraud

The Aberdeen Press and Journal reported on 17 January 2009 that Ian Hamilton QC, famous snatcher of the Stone of Destiny in 1950 and now at the age of 83 also an active member of the blogosphere, is suing the Royal Bank of Scotland in a small claims action in the Oban Sheriff Court.  His action is based on fraud and, in the alternative, negligence.

It appears that Mr Hamilton took up the RBS rights issue in spring 2008, buying 640 shares at just under £2 a share.  The shares are worth 35 pence as Mr Hamilton raises his action, with little prospect of the trend being reversed in the near or even distant future.  Mr Hamilton claims that the directors of RBS either knew that the bank was technically insolvent as they made the rights issue, or that it was negligence if they did not know.  Scots Law News thinks he may have a point. 

Some additional thoughts on the application of the criminal law to the situation may be found on Mr Hamilton’s blog, A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle.  Scots Law News would certainly share the view that the issues here are at least as serious as those of the Sheridans, although perhaps not quite on the same scale as Sergeant Eros and the Naked Rambler.