Conrad Black, the former media tycoon, who was found guilty of fraud and obstruction of justice in a US court today is to appeal against the verdicts.
The jury in the case in Chicago found him not guilty of racketeering and tax evasion charges.
Black, who built what was once one of the largest newspaper conglomerates in the world, faced 13 charges and has been found guilty of four.
He was accused of defrauding his former company, Hollinger, of some €43m, as well as obstruction of justice, racketeering and filing false tax returns.
Black was charged in nine fraud counts, including six related to eight deals Hollinger made between 1998 and 2001 as it sold off the bulk of its far-flung newspaper assets.
The tax-free payments to some executives and to companies they controlled, were said to be compensation for agreeing not to compete with the buyers for periods of up to five years.
Prosecutors argued the payments were in fact unapproved, disguised bonuses.
Black was also charged with obstructing justice for defying a court order by removing documents from his Toronto offices in 2005, racketeering, and filing false tax returns in 1999 and 2000 for Hollinger.
Black, a member of Britain's House of Lords, could face decades in prison and millions in fines for the four guilty verdicts against him.
Black's co-defendants former Hollinger International chief financial officer Jack Boultbee; Peter Atkinson, former vice president and general counsel of Hollinger, and Mark Kipnis, a former Hollinger lawyer have each been found guilty.
The jury was handed the case on 27 June after nearly 15 weeks of testimony.
