Scots bus tycoon Dame Ann Gloag among four facing ‘human trafficking’ charge
BUS tycoon Dame Ann Gloag has been charged as part of an alleged human trafficking probe.
Stagecoach founder Miss Gloag, 80, and three others have also been accused of immigration offences.
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “On 19 January, 2023, four individuals were charged in connection with an investigation into alleged human trafficking and immigration offences. A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
Cops from the National Human Trafficking Investigation Unit at the Scottish Crime Campus led the probe.
Miss Gloag set up the Gloag Foundation, which spent 26 per cent of its cash on anti-human trafficking and exploitation projects in 2019, up from 12 per cent in 2018.
The Gloag Foundation is a charitable trust set up by Dame Ann Gloag that supports projects that prevent or relieve poverty and encourage the advancement of education, health and religion in the UK and overseas.”
The trust has a number of links to Kenya with students coming to Scotland and attending courses at Perth College, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
The University confirmed it is assisting the police investigation.
According to an article on the Perth College website from 2019, students have attended Perth College UHI through Gloag Foundation sponsorship.
A spokeswoman for Perth College, part of the University of the Highlands and Island, said they were cooperating with the police investigation.
She said: “We are fully cooperating with the police in the course of their investigation.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said they were unable to comment on individual cases, but confirmed a probe was being led by specialist cops at the trafficking investigation unit.
A spokeswoman said: “We and our law enforcement partners are working closely with counterparts overseas, including from Kenya.”
A spokesperson for Dame Ann Gloag said: “Whilst we cannot comment on the details of an ongoing investigation, Dame Ann Glaog strongly disputes the malicious allegations that have been made against her, her foundation and members of her family, and will vigorously defend herself and the work of her foundation to protect her legacy and continue her work helping thousands people in the UK and abroad every year.”
Miss Gloag is co-founder of the international transport company Stagecoach – one of the UK’s biggest coach and bus operators.
In 2021, The Sunday Times rich list had the pair in 14th place with a combined estimated wealth of £650million.
Gloag was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours list.
The millionaire, who was previously appointed an OBE in 2004, received her damehood in recognition of her extensive business and charitable work in the UK and overseas.
The former nurse has led many successful charitable projects in Africa that focus on helping women and children receive quality healthcare and education.
Through her Gloag Foundation and other charities she claims to have directly helped more than 120,000 women and children in Africa.
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