ANDREW REGAN vowed yesterday to rebuild his business career after a jury cleared him of stealing £2.4 million.
The 37-year-old entrepreneur, remembered for his abortive £1.2 billion bid for the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) in 1997, still has “many friends” in business who are willing to support him in new ventures. Fighting back tears, he said he felt “vindicated” and was looking forward to resuming his career.
Mr Regan drove away from Snaresbrook Crown Court in East London in his four-wheel drive, accompanied by his father Roger, the former chairman of Spring Ram, the kitchens and bathrooms group. He later celebrated with a pint.
The result is a setback for the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which has failed to win convictions in two successive high-profile cases, the other being the Wickes trial. This prosecution alone cost the SFO £1.5 million. The bill will be swelled by defence costs.
Yesterday’s verdict, in a 10-1 majority, came after one of the most fraught prosecutions brought by the SFO. Reporting restrictions meant that the jury was not told Mr Regan had faced two earlier trials. The first trial resulted in a “hung” jury and the second collapsed after less than a week amid allegations of jury nobbling. Judge David Radford ordered police protection for the jury in the latest trial.
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The jury of eight women and three men retired on Monday and deliberated for nearly 12 hours, spending two nights in a hotel.
Mr Regan had been accused of stealing £2.4 million from Hobson, a food group where he was chief executive, and using the money to bribe two Co-op managers into extending a lucrative food supply agreement. Hobson was dependent on its Co-op contract.
The Co-op managers, Allan Green and David Chambers, were each convicted in the first trial of accepting £1 million each in bribes. Hobson’s lawyer, Paul Thomas, was acquitted, but the jury could not agree on whether Mr Regan had stolen the money. Mr Regan said that the money was a brokerage fee for Ronald Zimet, an Israeli-Dutch businessman who was a big shareholder in Hobson.
Mr Zimet appeared as a witness for the SFO after winning immunity from prosecution.