Come clean on your finances, judge tells Conrad Black

CHICAGO - The judge overseeing the coming trial of toppled press baron Conrad Black has demanded fuller accounting of his convoluted finances, but did not indicate if she would revoke his US$20 million ($32.86 million) bond.

Prosecutors have argued that Black may have hidden assets that would make him a flight risk on a US$20 million bond keeping him out of jail pending his trial next March on fraud, racketeering and other charges.

"My point is to find out if there have been misrepresentations to this court," US District Judge Amy St Eve told Black's US lawyer.

Black, a Canadian-born member of Britain's House of Lords, is accused, with other former executives, of looting Chicago-based newspaper publisher Hollinger International, and with exploiting company perks.

The judge questioned how Black, who has no apparent income, was able to meet more than US$200,000 in monthly expenses, including a US$114,000 payment on a mortgage for a Toronto house, US$9100 for gardening and US$8000 in property taxes, which were detailed in a court-sealed accounting of Black's finances.

Those expenses might or might not include expenses on Black's Palm Beach mansion, which is listed for sale for US$35 million, now that a lien on the property by Canadian tax authorities was being lifted, Black's lawyer, Edward Genson, said.

Though a mortgage on the Florida mansion is in foreclosure, part of the home's value secures Black's bond.

St Eve demanded a list of Black's assets and income, an explanation of why the value of his stake in Canadian publisher Horizon Publications somehow multiplied in value since an estimate offered at his bond hearing in November, and the amount of loans to Black from his wife, Barbara Amiel.

Genson said Black had sold off assets, won a settlement over payments to two law firms, and borrowed money from his wife.

He said Black's finances were clouded because of the poor relationship with former partner David Radler, who headed Horizon and has pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to testify against Black.

- REUTERS