Hollinger International Inc amended its fraud complaint against former Chief Executive Conrad Black and others on Friday, adding former Pentagon adviser Richard Perle to a list of executives and directors the publisher accuses of stealing from the company.
The amended complaint, filed in federal court in Illinois, maintains all of Hollinger International's previous allegations and adds new claims based on an investigation conducted by a special committee of its board of directors.
Hollinger International is 18 percent owned by Toronto-based Hollinger Inc, which Black controls. Hollinger International has accused Black and others of running a "corporate kleptocracy" and draining hundreds of millions of dollars from the company.
An attorney for Perle, a Hollinger International director, was not immediately available to comment.
Perle, a prominent conservative thinker considered a driving force behind the US invasion of Iraq, left his Pentagon advisory post in February amid questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Perle's work as a Hollinger International director was condemned in the special report that served as a basis for Friday's amended complaint for a lack of oversight while on the company's executive committee. After the report's release, Perle said he had been misled by Black.
The total amount of damages sought in the new complaint, Hollinger International said, is $542 million. Hollinger International publishes papers including the Chicago Sun-Times and the Jerusalem Post.
Black will resign as chairman and chief executive of Hollinger Inc, his lawyer said Friday, to facilitate a bid to take that company private.
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