Former JJB Sports Boss Guilty Of £1m Fraud

Former JJB Sports chief executive Christopher Ronnie has been found guilty of fraud over undeclared payments worth £1m.

The 52-year-old's conviction is based on three, six-figure cash payments from JJB suppliers in 2007 and 2008. They were not disclosed to the company's board, and the money was apparently used to buy property in Florida.

Prosecutors have requested that he is barred from assuming company directorships as part of his sentence.

Ronnie did not give evidence in his defence during the trial at Southwark Crown Court. After nearly 35 hours of deliberations, jurors delivered a unanimous guilty verdict.

At the time of the fraud, he owed more than £11m in loan payments to Icelandic banks after falsifying information about his assets.

His business partners, David Ball and David Barrington, were also convicted of perverting the course of justice, as they helped Ronnie to conceal the fraud.

But Ball, an accountant and supplier for the retailer, was cleared of two counts of furnishing false information.

The Serious Fraud Office began investigating the case after receiving a tip from a computer engineer who was asked to delete any trace of emails related to the Icelandic loans.

Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith told the men: "I'm granting you bail to give you an opportunity to get your affairs in order."

All three men will be sentenced on 12 December.