Conrad Black has often asserted that he is not a man to shrink in the face of adversity. But the British peer and former newspaper tycoon will be forced in coming months to fend off criminal fraud charges with a depleted arsenal.

Lord Black's long-running legal battles, which has culminated with his indictment this week on eight counts of fraud by the US attorney's office in Illinois, have taken a heavy financial toll on the former chairman and chief executive of Hollinger International.

The severity of the problem was outlined by his attorney last month, just a week after the US government seized nearly $9 million (€7.65 million) from the Canadian-born peer - the proceeds of the sale of his New York apartment, a property the government said he acquired at an artificially low price from Hollinger.

Attorney Gregory Craig said the seizure was a "grotesque abuse of power designed to prevent Lord Black from defending himself against potential criminal charges".

"The government knows full well that this seizure imposes substantial hardship on Lord Black.

"His decision to sell this property was prompted by his need for funds to pay counsel to represent him in connection with any such criminal charges," Mr Craig said. "It is akin to confiscating David's slingshot on the eve of his encounter with Goliath."

The indictment announced against Lord Black and three other former Hollinger executives on Thursday revealed that federal prosecutors were also seeking to forfeit Lord Black's other residence in the US, his $36 million mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. The seizure would be more than an inconvenience for Lord Black, who will need liquidity in order to pay mounting legal bills.

Jamie Wareham, an attorney at Paul Hastings and white collar crime expert, said Patrick Fitzgerald, the US attorney who brought the indictment against Lord Black, is using an overly aggressive prosecutorial tactic by seeking to seize Lord Black's properties.

Mr Fitzgerald's seizure of the proceeds from the New York apartment is the subject of ongoing litigation. Hollinger is separately seeking to recoup $3 million legal costs from Lord Black. A spokesman for Lord Black declined to comment on when he expected him travel to Chicago to face his arrest warrant. - (Financial Times Service)