Cognotec founder and executive chairman Brian Maccaba, an orthodox Jewish convert, was claimed to have offered the money to Nathalie Attar and her husband Alain in a poem he wrote after allegedly becoming besotted with her. It was claimed in London's High Court in 2004 that they rejected that offer and alleged that Maccaba had wreaked a "rich man's revenge" on Nathalie Attar and the rabbi she turned to for help, Dayan Lichtenstein.

Dayan means 'judge' in Yiddish.

In what became the UK's longest slander trial, Maccaba denied the claims. He was suing Lichtenstein for roughly 2m in damages. He said that Lichtenstein had described him as a "sexual predator" and "adulterer".

The case caused a sensation when it was heard.

Defence counsel for Lichtenstein told the court that Maccaba was "no Robert Redford", but that the alleged $1m offer "was still an indecent proposal".

In court, Maccaba described as "ridiculous" the suggestion that he had offered the money and described the comments made by the rabbi as "poisonous".

The jury found that Maccaba had not been slandered and was not entitled to damages.

Granada Television is understood to be in the process of dramatising the trial. A spokeswoman for the company did not return calls.