After a U.S. federal grand jury in Chicago indicted former Hollinger International Inc. President David Radler, the RCMP said it has already determined there's no need for a Canadian investigation.

Late Thursday, an RCMP spokesperson said that the force looked into allegations of security crime at Hollinger International back in February 2004.

"After conducting a thorough review, it was determined that no Canadian investigation was required,'' RCMP Cpl. Michele Paradis told The Toronto Star.

Questions about so-called "self-dealing" among some of the company's top executives and related companies surfaced in 2003.

South of the border, U.S. prosecutors are pressing ahead.

Earlier Thursday, formal charges were laid against Radler, former in-house lawyer Mark Kipnis and Ravelston Corp. -- the Toronto-based company that was, until recently, owned by Conrad Black-- on five counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud.

"The investing public has a right to expect that officers and directors of publicly traded companies are managing, not stealing, the shareholder's money,'' U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told reporters on Thursday.

The federal indictment alleges Radler, Kipnis and Ravelston engineered secret deals that saw $32 million diverted from shareholders in the guise of tax-exempt non-compete fees.

Black was not named in the indictment, although prosecutors said the U.S. government is not only continuing its investigation, but is doing so with Radler's cooperation.

The former publisher of the Chicago Sun-Times, prosecutors said, will plead guilty at a later date.

Watching developments in New York, author Richard Siklos believes that doesn't bode well for the former media tycoon he profiles in his book, Shades of Black.

"They're pretty close to the mesh in the slam dunk world," Siklos said, drawing a basketball analogy on CTV's Canada AM early Friday.

"Black is incredibly bright and he has adamantly said he is innocent, but to have his partner go against him is going to make it very difficult if it comes to some kind of court showdown."

Black and Radler have been close business associates for years, building together a media empire that once included Britain's The Daily Telegraph and Canada's National Post.

According to Columbia University law professor John Coffee, the case appears to be "following the standard playbook, the same one they used at Enron and WorldCom."

Former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison earlier this year on conspiracy and fraud charges. Key evidence in Ebbers' trial came from his one-time right-hand-man, Scott Sullivan.

The pair were charged with civil fraud in November, by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In that case, the two men are accused of using Hollinger International as "their personal piggy bank."

At the end of July, the U.S. Attorney's office filed court documents saying "the government's criminal investigation of the SEC defendants is progressing with all due diligence."

The U.S. Attorney's office asked a U.S. federal court judge for a two-month delay on the disclosure of a secret document in part to avoid impairing the government's ongoing criminal investigation.

The Attorney's office asked that the document be kept secret until Oct. 1.

U.S. prosecutors have said they are investigating Black and Radler on allegations of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and interstate transportation of funds obtained by fraud.

Prosecutors have said in court documents that charges might be filed under the U.S. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.

In Canada, the Ontario Securities Commission has said it will seek hearing dates in October for its case against Black and three former Hollinger Inc. executives relating to the non-compete payments.

According to the indictment filed Thursday, the accused cheated Canadian tax law by disguising management bonuses as non-competition fees after a court ruled they were tax exempt.

Responding to the latest developments, a spokesperson for Hollinger Inc. said the company is pleased the case is proceeding, and plans to continue cooperating with authorities.

A Toronto-based holding company, Hollinger Inc. has voting control over Hollinger International. In turn, Ravelston is the majority owner of Hollinger Inc.

With files from CTV's David Akin and The Canadian Press