« Back to 2003 News Archive

Bail for Forster

FRAUDSTER Kennedy Forster has been released from prison on bail.

The former Stranraer lawyer was freed from Glasgow's Barlinnie jail on Wednesday after successfully appealing a decision to keep him in custody while he awaits sentence for fraud.

He had been held in custody since 3rd December, the day on which he appeared at the High Court in Glasgow. Then, he pleaded guilty to 40 charges, comprising 34 of embezzlement and a further six of transferring assets to members of his family while bankruptcy proceedings were underway against him.

Total value of the embezzlement was around £667,000 which Forster used, the High Court heard, to fund a lavish lifestyle for him and his family.

At his original High Court appearance, the Judge, Lord Emslie, called for reports and refused to release Forster on bail in the meantime, citing the "number, nature and gravity" of the charges.

Last Wednesday, however, Forster was released after his own legal team successfully appealed the decision not to grant him bail.

He is now due back at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday for sentencing.