The trial of Conrad Black gets underway in the US today, with the former newspaper tycoon accused of fraud relating to the supposed misuse of funds from his now defunct media empire.
Lord Black, 62, is accused of stealing $84 million (£43.7 million) from shareholders of his former media group Hollinger International, following sales of newspapers and magazines that were owned by the company.
US prosecutors also allege that the Canadian-born billionaire misused the company's money to finance a luxury lifestyle. A Chicago federal court is set to hear claims that Black used the firm's corporate jet to fly to Bora Bora for a personal holiday in 2001 and that he used £40,000 of company funds to help pay for a surprise birthday party for his wife at a New York restaurant.
Lord Black, who faces charges of fraud, racketeering, tax violations, obstruction of justice and money laundering, could receive a 101-year prison sentence if convicted.
But the former Daily Telegraph owner, who renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2001 to take up a seat in the House of Lords, vehemently denies the charges.
"I know I am innocent of the allegations against me, as does almost anyone who actually knows me - and I am about to prove it," Lord Black wrote in the most recent edition of Tatler magazine.
A jury is currently being selected to hear the allegations, with the trial due to officially begin on Monday.
Real estate mogul Donald Trump is expected to appear for Lord Black as a defence witness, with a number of other leading public figures also expected to give evidence at the trial.
Having once run the world's third-largest newspaper group, Lord Black was ousted as Hollinger International's chief executive in 2003. All the group's larger newspapers were sold and the name of the company was subsequently changed to the Sun Times Media Group.
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