Ian Suttie is one of Scotland's richest men but he is also never far from controversy. He is a director of almost 40 companies and his interests include an oil company, numerous property developments and a restaurant below his Queen's Terrace office in Aberdeen.

Only last week that was the centre of objections by local residents because of an application for a pub licence which was granted.

A welter of publicity also centred on his purchase of the Richards factory in the centre of Aberdeen. He took over the factory in 2002 after the Broadford plant, once one of the city's leading employers, went bust leaving hundreds of workers without a pension.

As part of the deal, the site was sold to a company called Hawkrow, of which Mr Suttie was the sole director, for £5m.

Mr Suttie moved the company's operations to a new site in the Northfield area of the city, but it went into receivership in November 2004, leaving the 196 remaining workers without a job.

He was accused of asset stripping when he later announced plans on the site for a £50m "Covent Garden" style development of 400 flats, loft apartments and penthouses, as well as commercial premises.

In 2005, Mr Suttie appeared in court on fraud charges having failed to pay £21,000 in tax, having earned almost £180,000 in interest on an account.

He was cleared after explaining that he did not know the current account paid interest. Giving evidence on his behalf his wife Dorothy, who sorted their mail and filed bank statements, told the court that he had gone "berserk" when he found out about the interest and described that day as "probably the worst moment of our married life".

She added that subsequently bank records and income tax had been taken out of her hands.

Mr Suttie is overseas, but he issued a statement through his solicitor warning of action against false allegations.

"I have always been in favour of the Western Peripheral Route believing that such infrastructure would greatly benefit Aberdeen," he said.

"I have never considered the proposed Pitfodels route had any merit due to its proximity to Aberdeen.

"The Scottish Liberal Democratic Party approached me to support their recent Scottish Election campaign. They did not offer anything in return, nor did I request anything. The donation was transparently given.

"I have never met Tavish Scott. I have never been at a meeting with Stewart Spence, Nicol Stephen and Tavish Scott. I consider these allegations to be without foundation and defamatory and will not hesitate to take all steps necessary to protect my good name."

Stewart Spence is one of Aberdeen's most affable and successful hoteliers and the reputation of the Marcliffe at Pitfodels makes it the destination of choice for pop stars, royalty and American golfers and is also a regular venue for SNP functions. It was at the Marcliffe that Donald Trump's "right-hand man" George Sorial stayed during recent visits to Scotland in connection with the golf resort application and it was at the hotel he had the controversial meeting with the First Minister.

Yesterday, Mr Spence said he found it quite amusing to be at the centre of another controversy, but said that the stories circulating had no foundation. "There was no such meeting here in October and I have never met Tavish Scott," he said. "Nor have I ever been to any meeting about the AWPR.

"In fact, the Pitfodels route would have been fantastic for me because it would not have affected the hotel, but it would have meant that my guests were only five minutes from the airport."