Maxwell's son 'heavily' involved in empire's collapse

An official report says Kevin Maxwell, the son of Robert Maxwell, bears a heavy responsibility of the collapse of the family's business empire.

The Department of Trade and Industry report also said Goldman Sachs bank bears a substantial responsibility for allowing the late tycoon to manipulate the stock market.

The long-awaited conclusions of the inquiry into the Maxwell affair have finally been published, nine years after the investigation was launched.

The report was commissioned in 1992, seven months after Robert Maxwell toppled to his death from his luxury yacht in the Atlantic.

His businesses toppled soon after, as administrators took over amid revelations that some £45m was missing from pension funds.

Several leading City institutions are criticised in the report, although the inspectors make it clear that the primary responsibility rests with the late tycoon himself.

The report said Goldman Sachs, the investment bank with which Robert Maxwell principally dealt when purchasing shares in his own companies, could be blamed in respect of the "manipulation" to the stock market.

The bank was found innocent of any wrong doing by the criminal inquiry after Maxwell's death, but agreed to pay £176m to settle Maxwell-related law suits in New York and London.

The City accountancy firm then known as Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte and other professional advisors involved with the floatation of Maxwell's Mirror Group Newspapers in 1991 have also been criticised.