Hollinger report could be critical to prosecution

IT MAY not have big floppy ears, but a thick book in play at the criminal fraud trial of fallen media mogul Conrad Black is an elephant in the courtroom just the same.

As the trial resumes for a truncated session that will last only Monday and Tuesday, jurors already know the report from an internal company committee exists, but cannot hear the conclusions reached in its 500-plus pages of damning accusations.

It details how Mr Black and his associates supposedly sucked millions of dollars from Hollinger International through a slurry of excessive management fees, questionable newspaper sales agreements and executive jet-setting.

Mr Black has maintained his innocence, calling the charges a smear job.

Prosecutors have agreed not to elicit the findings or conclusions of the special committee’s investigation, or to try to introduce the substance of its report, court papers show. However, prosecutors, and Judge Amy St Eve, have found that the committee’s existence, and the nature of its investigation, remain intertwined with the charges.

The internal report was built on interviews with more than 60 current and former Hollinger employees and directors, as well as outsiders who participated in the sales of various newspapers, financial advisers and legal advisers.

Many of the people interviewed, as well as those who conducted the investigation and prepared the report, are likely to be called as witnesses in the trial.