- Dame Ann Gloag charged with human trafficking offences and immigration.
- Co-founder of Stagecoach is accused of crimes related to human trafficking.
- Police Scotland confirm they have charged her husband David McCleary.
Dame Ann Gloag, a Scottish transportation magnate, has been accused of crimes related to human trafficking.
Additionally charged are her husband David McCleary and two other family members.
All four of the accused vehemently reject the allegations.
According to information provided to media, the 80-year-old co-founder of Stagecoach was charged after voluntarily going to the Falkirk police station with Mr. McCleary on Thursday for an interview.
Dame Ann stated in a statement that she was unable to comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation.
But it added: “Dame Ann Gloag strongly disputes the malicious allegations that have been made against her, her foundation and members of her family.”
It went on to say she would “vigorously defend herself and the work of her foundation to protect her legacy and continue her work helping thousands of people in the UK and abroad every year.”
Four persons have been charged, according to Police Scotland, in connection with an investigation into alleged immigration and human trafficking offences.
According to a spokesman, Scottish prosecutors would receive a report.
According to what is known, Paul McNeil and Sarah Gloag, Dame Ann’s stepdaughter and daughter-in-law, attended the West Lothian police station in Livingston of their own volition.
According to speculation, the claims concern individuals who were relocated to Scotland as a result of Dame Ann’s charitable work with the Gloag Foundation.
A source close to Dame Ann told the Media that the family were “victims of collusion” and had endured “a Kafkaesque nightmare for the last two years.”
The source added: “Everybody is bewildered by these accusations and the level of this investigation.
“It is deeply ironic that Dame Ann actually funds an Eastern European charity called the Open Door Foundation whose job it is to stop the trafficking of poor women into sex crimes.
“She is very attuned to the real dangers that are going on in this world.
“This is bizarre. We are dealing with technicalities.
“There are countless people who are stepping forward to support Dame Ann from around the world.”
Dame Ann left Stagecoach in 2019, over 40 years after she and her brother launched the company. She was the richest woman in Scotland at the time.
The foundation contributes to charities including Dame Ann’s Freedom from Fistula, which helps women and children in Sierra Leone, Malawi, and Madagascar.
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