By: E&P Staff Torys LLP agreed Wednesday to pay Hollinger International Inc. $30.25 million to settle potential claims that the prominent Canadian law firm acted improperly when it represented the publishing company in a series of newspaper transactions the U.S. government now alleges were designed to line the pockets of deposed CEO Conrad Black and other key executives.
In its announcement of the settlement, Hollinger said Torys had cooperated with its special committee that alleges Black and other ran a "corporate kleptocracy" that "looted" the parent of the Chicago Sun-Times of more than $400 million over eight years.
"The settlement agreement provides for Torys to continue to cooperate in ongoing investigations and litigation," the company said in a statement. It added that Torys is required to make the payment to the before the end of the year.
The Globe and Mail in Toronto on Nov. 29 reported the settlement had been expected. It said then that the settlement would be one the largest payments ever made by a Canadian law firm to settle allegations that it failed to act in a client's best interests.
The settlement announcement came the same day that former Hollinger International CFO John "Jack" Boultbee pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in Chicago to federal charges he schemed with Black, Hollinger lawyers Peter Y. Atkinson and Mark Kipnis, and Ravelston Corp., a holding company once controlled by Black, to divert $83 million from the sale of dozens of Hollinger newspapers.
All have pleaded not guilty. After a separate indictment in August, Black's former right-hand man, F. David Radler, pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud in exchange for a lighter sentence and the promise to testify in any Hollinger-related fraud prosecutions.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here