A JURY is still considering its verdict in the case of an Abingdon man accused of fraud during the takeover of Derby County, after convicting two of his co-defendants.

The jury at Northampton Crown Court has been told three men used a loan to buy the struggling Championship football club, then defrauded the club by paying themselves “secret commission”.

Derby County Football Club ex-chief executive Jeremy Keith, ex-finance director Andrew Mackenzie and ex-director of football Murdo Mackay, used the £15m loan from a Panama corporation as a “carrot” to buy the club for just £3 in 2003, the court heard.

Keith, 41, of Abingdon, Mackenzie, 55, of Derby, and Mackay, 53, of Fife, Scotland, all denied conspiring to defraud Derby County of £440,625 on or before December 8, 2003.

Yesterday Mackenzie and Mackay were both found guilty of claiming the secret commission totalling £440,625, after brokering a loan for the club, nicknamed the Rams. The jury was out for more than six days.

In Keith’s case the jury is considering an alternative charge of falsifying documents.

David Lowe, 58, of Monaco, legal adviser during the takeover, was found guilty of helping to launder £81,895 of the £440,625.

Mark Waters, 48, of south east London, who was an accountant for the board in 2003, was found not guilty of falsifying documents.

The jury will resume its deliberations today.