Media baron Mr Conrad Black has refused to testify before US regulators investigating financial irregularities at the newspaper's parent company.
Mr Black, who resigned in November as chief executive of the Chicago-based newspaper chain Hollinger International and was set to testify in Chicago before the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination on the advice of his lawyers.
"In light of the very early stage of the investigation, the lack of time to adequately prepare, and the uncertainty regarding the nature and scope of the investigation, we advised Lord Black that he should exercise his constitutional right not to testify," attorney Mr John Warden, a partner with the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, said in a statement.
The SEC is probing Hollinger, publisher of the Daily Telegraph, the Chicago Sun-Timesand Jerusalem Post, following disclosures that Mr Black and several top deputies collected $32 million in special payments not authorised by the company's board.
Canadian-born Mr Black, a member of Britain's House of Lords, resigned under pressure as chief executive last month, but he remains non-executive chairman of the company. The payments were uncovered by a special committee of Hollinger International's board set up at shareholders' behest in June.
Hollinger disclosed last month that it had been served subpoenas by the SEC. Neither Mr Black nor Hollinger International, which is exploring a possible sale of some of its newspapers or the entire company, has been charged with any wrongdoing.
Mr Black has repeatedly declared his innocence of any financial improprieties.