HE made history by becoming the first Baron of Corstorphine for more than 20 years, despite being a born and bred Australian.
Paying the hefty £50,000 for the privilege, Michael Milne was officially named the 34th Baron of the Edinburgh district in 2005 and joined a long list of nobles who had held the title since the days of James I.
He even designed his own tartan afte
r making his only official visit to Corstorphine, which he announced would be made available to anyone with links to the area.
But now, three years after buying the historic title, the 52-year-old businessman is facing up to 25 years in jail after being accused of being at the centre of a multi-million-pound money laundering scandal.
Mr Milne, who lives in Neutral Bay, Sydney, was charged over an alleged £13.8 million offshore tax evasion scheme following a huge fraud investigation carried out by police, tax officials and crime commission chiefs Down Under.
Officials accused him of using off-shore companies to sell purposely undervalued shares "to create a falsely low tax position", although he has since been released on bail of £2 million.
Mr Milne bought the title from the local Corstorphine Trust heritage group.
Douglas Ramsay, chairman of the Corstorphine Trust, said: "We didn't realise what was happening in Australia but at least we now know why he hasn't replied to us for a few months. As far as the title is concerned, he has paid a lot of money for it and all it really entitles him to do is put Baron of Corstorphine on his headed notepaper.
"We wouldn't look to take it back even if he is found guilty."
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www.corstorphine.net•
www.corstorphine-trust.ukgo.comThe full article contains 303 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
