Maxwell Brothers Acquitted In Pension-Fund Fraud Case

LONDON - Kevin Maxwell, youngest son and right-hand man of media tycoon Robert Maxwell, and his elder brother Ian were acquitted today of conspiring to defraud the Maxwell group pension funds.

Former Maxwell company director Larry Trachtenberg, 42, was also acquitted.

The jury of seven women and five men returned their verdict in Britain's biggest fraud trial after more than 48 hours of deliberating complex evidence from more than 75 witnesses in the 121-day trial.

Robert Maxwell's media empire collapsed in December 1991 shortly after his body was found floating in the sea off the Canary Islands. His corporate empire collapsed and about $700 million of pension-fund assets were found to be missing.

Kevin, 36, was accused of conspiring with his father before his death to defraud the Maxwell group pension fund by using $152 million of its shares in the Israeli company Scitex Corp.

He was also charged along with Ian, 39, and Trachtenberg of conspiring to defraud by risking $33 million of pension fund shares in another Israeli company, Teva Pharmaceuticals.