A financial services firm boss jailed for plundering pension pots and life savings is launching a legal battle before appeal judges.
Alistair Greig,66, carried out a Ponzi scam which sucked in dozens of individuals to place their funds in “guaranteed” high interest accounts.
But a jury at the High Court in Edinburgh heard how Greig was using the cash to fund his own lavish lifestyle.
A judge gave Greig, formerly of Cairnbulg, Aberdeenshire, a 14 year jail sentence earlier this year.
But now Greig is hoping to appear before appeal judges later this year.
On Tuesday, staff at Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh confirmed that Greig’s lawyers had written to them notifying them of their client’s intention to appeal.
It is not known at this stage whether Greig is appealing his sentence or conviction.
Greig was earlier unanimously found guilty of obtaining £13,281,671.25 by fraud through his scheme between August 2001 and October 2014 by pretending he would placed money for investors in a short term deposit scheme with the Royal Bank of Scotland for fixed periods of time.
He was also convicted of breaching financial services and markets legislation and converting and transferring £5.7 million in criminal property. He had denied the offences.
The Crown listed a total of 165 victims of fraud on the indictment Greig faced.
Greig, who was latterly residing at London Road, Kirkton, Boston, in Lincolnshire, used the case to fund investments in property, including a holiday home in Cornwall, and a classic car business.
He also treated himself to a high end Bentley and Range Rover vehicles and spent lavishly of trips to Old Trafford to see Manchester United and to Cheltenham and Ascot for race meetings.
Prosecution lawyer Steven Borthwick told jurors that Greig used the money entrusted to him as “his own personal slush fund”.
Greig, who has since been made bankrupt in England, told his own clients and advisers that he had access to a high interest account at RBS because of his connections.
But Mr Borthwick said: “The truth of the matter is Alistair Greig had no special relationship with RBS.”
Passing sentence, Lord Tyre said: “The amount that you helped yourself to in order to fund a lavish lifestyle was also extremely large, almost £6 million found its way into your own bank accounts.”
It is thought appeal judges will consider whether Greig has grounds to proceed later this year.