THE former chief executive of a top Hampshire aviation firm has been convicted of stealing more than £37,000 from the company.

Adrian Barralet was found guilty of fraudulently diverting the cash from Osprey Aviation Ltd, based at Southampton International Airport, in June 1997.

But the 51-year-old was found not guilty of 17 other charges of theft and attempted theft, totalling around £80,000, by the jury at Southampton Crown Court.

The guilty verdict related to an occasion where Barralet had asked for a sum of £37,059, intended for French engine repair firm Secca, to be diverted into the account of his own company Cos-Air.

He had just launched the company during a management buy-out attempt in June 1997, when the incident happened.

The court had heard that Barralet wrote out a string of cheques to a woman he claimed was a vital business contact.

When dismissed from his job he agreed to pay back £50,000 of the missing money, admitting he had acted "foolishly" by arranging payments to Julie Johnson.

Barralet told the court he met her when she worked as a hostess at a London nightspot.

Barralet, of Piddletrenthide, Dorset, argued Johnson was fulfilling a "useful role" for the company by "endearing" it to wealthy Greek executive jet owners.

He was cleared of deliberately altering cheque stubs to hide cheques allegedly written to Johnson. He will be sentenced on September 15.

Judge Jeremy Burford QC allowed Barralet to keep his passport in the meantime to allow him to conduct business across Europe and North America. surety of £5,000 was ordered to guarantee his appearance in court.

Allan McGreal, Chief Executive of Osprey Aviation said: "I'm pleased the trial has concluded and, while Osprey Aviation was central to the case, it had no direct involvement in bringing the case to trial."

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