US court blocks Black return to Canada before sentencing News
US court blocks Black return to Canada before sentencing

[JURIST] US District Judge Amy St. Eve [official profile] ruled in Chicago Wednesday that Canadian-born financier and former media mogul Conrad Black [JURIST news archive] may stay out on bail until his November 30 sentencing but denied a request to allow him to return to his home in Toronto. During the bail hearing, prosecutors argued that Black was a flight risk based on allegations that he misled the court while posting collateral for bail. St. Eve disagreed, but would not allow him to return to Canada because of concerns that Black might fight extradition back to the US for sentencing.

The judge ruled in July that he would not have to wait in jail [JURIST report] for the sentencing hearing in November. Black, now a British peer, was accused [indictment, PDF] by the US government of diverting more than $80 million from Hollinger International and its shareholders [JURIST report] during the company's $2.1 billion sale of several hundred Canadian newspapers. He was found not guilty on separate charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and tax evasion. His conviction on three counts could lead to a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million. Reuters has more.