Two foreign bids to buy Rangers were rejected because of concerns over the legitimacy of the money being offered, a court has heard.

The fraud trial of Craig Whyte has heard that, before his purchase of the club in 2011, "serious" expressions of interest had been made using cash from Belgian and Lithuanian banks.

The Belgian bid, proposed to Rangers majority shareholders at the time, Murray Group, was introduced by "the brother of an English Premier League manager" in 2010.

Mike McGill, a former director of Murray International and Rangers, told the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday that the bidders produced a letter from KBC Bank in Belgium.

The document outlined a balance of €50m to purchase Sir David's 85% shareholding in the club and invest cash in the playing squad.

Under questioning from prosecution QC Alex Prentice in the case, Mr McGill said concerns were first raised when it emerged that one of the individuals "had the same name as someone presently disqualified as a director in the UK".

The letter purporting to be from the bank was found to be fraudulent, he told the court.

A second consortium bid later emerged which was funded by a bank in Lithuania.

The group had, in Mr McGill's opinion, the funds and wherewithal to complete a purchase but the bid failed when the Murray Group raised concerns over allegations the bank was linked to money laundering.

Sir David also raised concerns over negative publicity because another Scottish club, Hearts, were backed by a Lithuanian bank at the time.

Mr Whyte is accused of fraud and a charge under the Companies Act. He denies the allegations against him.