20/07/2010

Conrad Black Bailed Pending Appeal

Former media tycoon Conrad Black has been released from prison on bail, pending an appeal against his conviction for fraud.

The 65-year-old British peer was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison in 2007 after he and three other former executives of media holding company Hollinger International were found guilty of swindling the company out of $6.1 million.

Canadian-born Black, who was the company's Chairman, and his colleagues were convicted of defrauding the company's shareholders, while Black was also convicted of one court of obstructing justice.

He has always denied the charges.

Hollinger International was one of the world's largest media companies, owning titles such as the Jerusalem Post, the UK's Daily Telegraph and Chicago Sun-Times.

Last month, the US Supreme Court ruled that the federal fraud law which was used in such cases was too broad in its scope.

It is not yet known when Black, who is currently being held in a low-security prison in Florida, will be released.

(KMcA/GK)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

18 November 2005
Lord Black denies US fraud charges
Conrad Black has denied federal fraud charges brought in the US alleging that he and three other executives diverted $84m of the proceeds from a $2.1bn sale of newspaper assets in Canada.
13 August 2007
Baby Snatch Attempt Foiled By Mother
A mother has successfully fought off a man and a woman who attempted to snatch her baby daughter from her pram in Leigh, Greater Manchester. Shortly after 8pm on Sunday 12 August 2007, the 30-year-old mother was pushing a pram with her four-month-old daughter along Wigan Road, close to the Hulme Road junction.
17 November 2003
Media mogul Lord Black steps down as Hollinger CEO
Lord Black, the Canadian-born media mogul who owns the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, has announced that he is to retire as chief executive of Hollinger International following an inquiry which found that he received around £7.2 million in "unauthorised payments".
19 January 2004
Barclay brothers close in on Telegraph titles
The billionaire Barclay brothers, the media moguls behind the Scotsman titles, are reported to have bought over the Daily and Sunday Telegraph for around £260 million.
25 March 2013
UK Teen Sells App For 'Dozens Of Millions'
A UK teenager has sold an app he created to Yahoo for an undisclosed sum, thought to be “dozens of millions”. 17-year-old Nick D’Aloisio created the app Summly, which summarizes news stories from popular media companies. He launched the app when he was just 15 and soon attracted more than £1m of investment.