Two former Lincolnshire directors accused of a multi-million pound fraud conspiracy could be facing a retrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict.

The £3 million trial of Lincoln Fraser and Jared Brook, formerly of the Imperial Consolidated group, has collapsed.

The jury, sitting at Blackfriars Crown Court in London, told the Judge that it could not agree verdicts on the pair.

But the jurors did acquit Nicholas Fraser, younger brother of Lincoln.

The outcome followed a six-month trial that is estimated to have cost £3 million in taxpayers' money.

Imperial Consolidated, based at the former RAF Binbrook and several overseas offices, went into administration in June 2002 owing £150m.

The three were accused of conspiring to defraud hundreds of millions of pounds from thousands of investors worldwide while allegedly covering up the fact that the group was insolvent.

Around 3,000 clients invested £253.9m in the four-and-a-half years ending in June 2002, the trial heard.

Hollywood star Wesley Snipes was numbered among the customers.

The Imperial directors were accused of frittering away investors' money on luxury lifestyles and company overheads while hiding the truth from customers.

Some clients lost their cash including Yuichi Yoshida, a Japanese businessman and Imperial's biggest single investor, who lost £16.7m.

Lincoln Fraser (37) of Orford Hall, Brookenby, Binbrook, and Brook (38) of Worseley, Manchester, created the Imperial group in the late 1990s.

The Serious Fraud Office, which led a lengthy investigation along with Lincolnshire Police, now has seven days to decide it will re-try the pair.

Nicholas Fraser (35) of Torksey Street, Kirton Lindsey, was found not guilty.

For more on this story, see Tuesday's Echo.