FRAUD claims against three ex-Rams bosses led police into an investigation which spanned four countries and two continents.

Officers looked deep into the financial lives of Andrew Mackenzie, Murdo Mackay and Jeremy Keith over an 18-month period.

The inquiry stretched from Florida to the Isle of Man, Malta to Monaco.

The investigating team took more than 150 witness statements and trawled through thousands of documents from some 70 sources, ranging from banks to solicitors.

In total the investigation and subsequent trial of the three and two alleged accomplices cost the taxpayer £1.5m.

Now, the work of Detective Sergeant Ian Penman, Detective Constable Terry Olney, and Detective Constable Nick Collin has proved worthwhile after Mackay and Mackenzie were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the club, and Keith was convicted of false accounting.

An accomplice to Mackay and Mackenzie, David Lowe, was found guilty of money laundering while a fifth man, Mark Waters, was found not guilty of false accounting.

The police investigation found that the club's ex-finance director Mackenzie, and ex-director of football Mackay had illegally taken £125,000 plus VAT each from the club.

Keith was not involved in the conspiracy but told the court that he had taken a payment.

His crime was to cover up the payment through an invoice which made it look as if the money was being paid to a company to which he was not connected.

The three received their payments for securing a £15m loan which saved the club from receivership in October 2003.

Prior to this time, the chairman of Derby County was Lionel Pickering, a man struggling against a rising tide of debt at the club.

The jury heard that Mackay was asked by Mr Pickering to find cash to help the club.

Mackay then involved Keith, who secured the £15m from Panamanian company ABC Corporation. Mackenzie was involved in securing the loan through his role as finance director.

The loan enabled a new consortium, which included Keith, to take over the club.

Keith became chief executive, Mackenzie continued in his role as financial director and Mackay became director of football.

The police investigation was sparked in February 2006 by complaints from Derby businessman Peter Gadsby, two months before a consortium - of which he was a part - took over the club.

It was also the month when the first plank of important evidence came to light - an affidavit, or sworn statement, signed by Mackay.

The document had been passed to the then club chairman John Sleightholme and said that Mackay, Mackenzie and Keith had received money from the Rams in return for securing the £15m loan.

Mr Sleightholme referred the matter to Derbyshire police and DS Ian Penman was passed the document.

DS Penman said: "The police conducted an exercise during the first few months of the inquiry in order to establish if there was any evidence of criminality.

"This included interviewing the suspects in this case either under caution or as potential witnesses. None of them were arrested at this stage."

The second part of the investigation saw documents gathered which showed Mackenzie had used most of his stolen money to buy a villa in Florida and a holiday in Malaysia. Financial information was also seized from Lowe's Monaco offices with the help of local police.

In the Isle of Man, bank accounts including those linked to Sharmine – the name of the company which bought the Rams in October 2003 – were looked into.

An address in Malta linked to Lowe was also investigated.

DS Penman said this was when the case became difficult as the gathering of evidence involved liaising with foreign police forces.

In each case, a letter requesting help was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service who then involved the Home Office.

The Home Office would then speak to its equivalent in the foreign country.

That body would then contact local magistrates who would tell police about the request.

Police would then select a single point of contact for DS Penman to liaise with, through Interpol if necessary.

DS Penman did not travel to Florida but did go to Malta and Monaco to assist local police.

He said: "When evidence is in this country we have the powers to get it. But once you start dealing with other countries there are time delays, you start having to deal with different legal systems and different organisations."

The arrests of Mackay, Mackenzie, Keith, and Waters, followed invitations to a police station.

But Lowe was taken into custody at Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club while he was acting in his capacity as a steward.

This happened because Lowe's home address was in Monaco and, there fore, under different legal jurisdiction.

DS Penman said: "We took in excess of 150 witness statements and trawled through thousands of documents from some 70 sources to piece together the intricate jigsaw puzzle which, when completed, pointed to a criminal conspiracy and cover up.

"Lies had been told by Keith and MacKenzie to various interested parties including a bank, administrators and the media."

He said the investigation into Mackenzie had been particularly complex as he had made an extra effort to cover his tracks after realising an investigation could take place.

The former financial director had created a buffer between himself and the £90,000 he received, by having it passed through two companies.

Some £81,895 of that money was passed to him through Lowe and the rest through Mackay in the form of the Malaysia holiday.

DS Penman said: "He (Mackenzie) created an extra hurdle to any future investigation by having the money transferred by Lowe into an American account which was being used to receive monies towards his Florida villa purchase.

"But he clearly felt that he needed some added comfort and apparently paid Lowe £3,000 to produce a promissory note which purported that Lowe had loaned him £81,895 in April 2005.

"The promissory note was worded so that it appeared that repayments on the loan were deferred and not due to commence until 13 days after the police interview in 2006.

"He even started to make repayments as per the note. However e-mails between him and David Lowe and other circumstantial evidence clearly demonstrated that this was a sham."

DS Penman said the case had been unusual because one of the accused had provided the first piece of evidence.

Mackay provided an affidavit which he said was to help businessman Peter Gadsby takeover the club in 2006.

DS Penman said: "What was unusual in this case was that one of the convicted men actually provided the first real piece of evidence, although there were some inaccuracies in the affidavit.

"I've no doubt that when he was providing that information, Murdo Mackay would not have considered it would fall into the hands of the police and lead to his conviction."

Derbyshire police said information about the number of hours officers had spent on the case was not available.

The trial lasted more than three months, with the jury's deliberations lasting for 30 hours.

The court process started in 2008 when it was decided to move the case to Northampton because of difficulties in finding an unbiased jury in Derby.

Four of the five accused – who all denied the charges – gave evidence with the exception of Lowe, who chose not to take the witness stand.

Also giving evidence were former John Sleightholme, Rams solicitor Nigel Blackwell, banker Keith Anderson, and club finance manager Heather Gorham.