Versailles assistant charges dropped

LORRAINE Jones, the former finance department assistant at collapsed trade finance group Versailles, was sensationally acquitted of fraud charges today.

Anthony Evans QC, prosecuting, told the jury at Southwark Crown Court he would offer no further evidence against the 38-year-old.

Judge Justice Rupert Jackson then directed the jury to return not guilty verdicts against her. Jones had been accused of two charges of conspiracy to defraud.

The Crown's decision to drop its prosecution ended a four-year ordeal for Jones, who said afterwards she was 'ecstatic'. Her fiance was in court to hear the verdict and joined in the celebrations.

The decision is a setback for the Serious Fraud Office and the Department of Trade and Industry, which launched probes into the firm after it collapsed in December 1999 owing £70m to banks and investors.

When Versailles was suspended by the London Stock Exchange in 1999, it had a market capitalisation of £630 million and was listed on the FTSE 250.

Two counts of conspiracy to defraud remain outstanding against Versailles founder and chief executive Carl Cushnie, who denies the charges, and the case continues.

Earlier in the trial, former finance director Frederick Clough had pleaded guilty to fraud, admitting that he took £19m from the company during his period of office. Jones had been Clough's assistant in the finance department.