This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7137080.stm

The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
Black gets six-and-a-half years Black gets six-and-a-half years
(10 minutes later)
Former media tycoon Conrad Black has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.Former media tycoon Conrad Black has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.
The sentence was at the lower end of the guidelines outlined by the judge, Amy St Eve. The sentence was at the lower end of the guidelines outlined by the judge, Amy St Eve. He was also fined $125,000 (£61,000) by the Chicago court.
With his business associates, Black was convicted of stealing millions of dollars from shareholders of Hollinger International of which he was chairman. The Canadian-born British member of the House of Lords was found guilty in July of three counts of fraud and one count of obstructing justice.
The maximum total sentence for the crimes of which the Chicago court found him guilty is 35 years. He still professes his innocence and plans to appeal.
Black still professes his innocence and plans to appeal against the convictions for fraud and obstructing justice. Together with his business associates, Black was convicted of stealing millions of dollars from shareholders of Hollinger International, of which he was chairman.
He and his associates were found guilty of paying themselves tax-free bonuses from the sale of newspaper assets without the approval of the company's board. They were found to have paid themselves tax-free bonuses from the sale of newspaper assets without the approval of the company's board.
In addition, Black was convicted on one count of obstructing justice, after being recorded on tape removing documents from his office in Toronto after US regulators had informed him he was under investigation.In addition, Black was convicted on one count of obstructing justice, after being recorded on tape removing documents from his office in Toronto after US regulators had informed him he was under investigation.
If the judge had accepted more of the prosecution's assertions about the size of the fraud and Black's role in it then he could have faced as much as 35 years in prison.
"It's a lenient sentence - the judge was clearly very tolerant of his remorseless tirades," Black's biographer Tom Bower told BBC News.