The Department of Public Prosecutions has dropped the criminal case against gravely ill billionaire Richard Pratt because of his terminal illness.
Crown prosecutor Mark Dean said the DPP would not pursue the case against after the businessman’s legal team told the Federal Court that he had “very little life span”.
“In those circumstances it is inescapable that these proceedings cannot be completed,” Dean said. “Accordingly, the public interest is not served by them continuing until rendered futile.”
The case against Pratt bascially collapsed after Justice Donnell Ryan ruled that a key piece of evidence in Pratt’s civil trial – in which Pratt admitted to operating a cartel with competitor Amcor – could not be used in the criminal trial.
Pratt’s legal team argued that the statement was intended to be used to settle a civil dispute and was not a general admission that can be used against him in criminal proceedings.
Pratt’s lawyer Leon Zwier opposed the move to drop the charges yesterday, claiming that the DPP should acquit Pratt on the grounds that the case would have failed due to a lack of evidence.
“This decision vindicates Richard Pratt’s views of the entire criminal prosecution that has been brought against him. Richard Pratt must now be declared innocent of these charges.”
Pratt’s close friend and legal adviser, Mark Leibler, said outside the court: “He’ll at least pass into the next world knowing that he has been vindicated, and he is innocent.”
According to a report in The Australian, Pratt wept when he wife Jeanne told him the news.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
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