'Fever pitch' bid by Kevin to find $24m

The Maxwell Trial: Day 31

Just after his father's death Kevin Maxwell tried to borrow $24m on the security of pension fund shares that were already pledged, an Old Bailey fraud trial heard yesterday.

Michael Fox, of Herzov Fox and Neeman, an Israeli law firm that acted for Maxwell group companies, described to the jury the high level of activity in both Britain and Israel generated by the mysterious death of tycoon Robert Maxwell in November 1991.

Mr Fox said he spoke to Kevin Maxwell and to a Maxwell group executive called Larry Trachtenberg about the deal.

The jury was told that two loans of $12m each were to be provided by two Israeli banks but the shares pledged had to be free of other charges.

Bishopsgate Investment Management, the Maxwell group's pension fund company, were owners of the shares and Mr Fox asked for a BIM boardroom resolution to say they were free to sell. However, during negotiations Mr Fox discovered the Teva shares had already been pledged to Lehman Brothers.

"We were surprised about it," he said, but added that in Israel the Lehman charge was probably imperfect because the title transfers did not accord with Israeli law.

In the dock are Kevin Maxwell, his brother, Ian, and two former Maxwell aides, Larry Trachtenberg and Robert Bunn.

All deny conspiracy to defraud. Kevin alone denies conspiring with his father to defraud the pension fund by misuse of pounds 100m of shares in Scitex, another Israeli company. The trial was adjourned to today.