Canada hearing begins on tycoon Conrad Black

Canadian authorities are set to begin proceedings today against former media tycoon Conrad Black, who is accused of a scheme to take proceeds from the newspaper business he once controlled.
Black has already spent more than three years in a Florida prison following US convictions on related actions, which occurred more than a decade ago.
Canada's proceeding is being handled by the Ontario Securities Commission. It alleges that directors and officers of Hollinger Inc and Hollinger International engaged in a scheme to take company proceeds through a system of 'non-competition' payments.
A U.S. Court recently gave final approval for a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Black, who agreed to pay USD 4.1 million in restitution and abide by limitations on his business activities there.

Of the many criminal charges against him in the US, just two convictions survived years of appeals on one count of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.
The Canadian-born Black served 37 months out of a 42-month sentence and was fined USD 125,000.
Among Hollinger's holdings were the London-based Daily Telegraph, the Chicago Sun-Times and numerous Canadian publications including the National Post.
Black renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2001 to accept a British peerage.