Millionaire miner faces jail term for bribery

MILLIONAIRE businessman Harold Shand was behind bars last night, facing up to seven years' jail.

MILLIONAIRE businessman Harold Shand was behind bars last night, facing up to seven years' jail, after being found guilty of bribing crooked Queensland politician Gordon Nuttall.

Shand's conviction by a Brisbane jury caps a corruption scandal that also embroiled the late mining tycoon Ken Talbot, who died in a plane crash in West Africa last June before he could face trial.

Prior to being remanded in custody overnight, 59-year-old Shand sat on the edge of his seat in the dock of the Brisbane District Court as prosecutor Ross Martin SC outlined the gravity of his actions in corruptly paying Nuttall $60,000 in 2002. While Nuttall was the "principal villain", Shand's crime was "so grave . . . that it cannot be easily overcome", Mr Martin said in sentencing submissions.

Judge Milton Griffin agreed, saying: "I am with you on that.

"It must weigh heavily in the sentencing."

The trial was Shand's second, after another District Court jury in March last year failed to reach a verdict on a charge he had paid Nuttall a "secret commission" to curry favour for his mining interests. This time, the jury deliberated for two days before indicating at noon yesterday that it, too, was deadlocked.

Judge Griffin issued a so-called "Black" direction, ordering the jurors to make another attempt to reach a decision. They returned two hours later with the guilty verdict. Sentencing submissions will continue today, but the judge said he was of the view that Shand, who turns 60 on Monday, should spend time behind bars.

Formerly a pillar of the Brisbane business establishment, Shand had denied he had bribed Nuttall when he was at the height of his power as a senior cabinet minister in Peter Beattie's Labor government in Queensland.

But the prosecution argued that Shand paid the money to Nuttall to open doors for a mining company known as Capregin, of which Shand was an executive and minor shareholder.

Central to the crown case was the evidence of Shand's business partner at the time, mining industry figure Jim Gorman, who testified that Nuttall was seeking to raise up to $1 million in "loans" to buy homes for his children.

Tony Glynn SC, for Shand, submitted yesterday that his client made the $60,000 payment at the direction of Mr Gorman. This was accepted by Judge Griffin.

Judge Griffin had warned jurors, before they retired on Tuesday to consider their verdict, that they should be very cautious about acting only on the evidence of Mr Gorman, who had been given a certificate of indemnity from prosecution.

Nuttall, 57, is serving a sentence of 12 years' jail for accepting bribes from Talbot and Shand, and other counts of corruption and perjury stemming from his relationship with another Brisbane businessman, Brendan McKennariey.

He will not be eligible for parole until 2014.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AAP