Former Derby County chief exec found guilty of false accounting

FORMER chief executive of Derby County Jeremy Keith has been convicted of false accounting in relation to a payment he received from the club.

Keith, 44, of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, was paid £125,000 plus VAT by the Rams as payment for helping secure a £15m loan.

But he disguised the payment through an invoice which made it look as if the money was being paid to a company which he was not connected to.

He said he tried to hide the transaction because Rams fans would have become angry if they new the truth.

Today, he was found guilty of false accounting by a majority verdict of 10 to one after one of the jury members was discharged because she had a migraine.

He was tried along with two other former Rams bosses, former finance director Andrew Mackenzie, 54, of Derby, and ex-director of football Murdo MacKay, 53, of Alicante, Spain.

The pair were yesterday found guilty by majority verdicts of conspiracy to defraud the Rams.

The court heard how they colluded to take an illegal commission for helping secure the £15m loan, which came from Panamanian company ABC Corporation.

Accountant Mark Waters, of Bromley, Kent, was found not guilty of false accounting relating to his alleged involvement.

But accomplice Monaco-based solicitor David Lowe, however, was found guilty of money laundering by a majority verdict.