The former chief financial officer (CFO) of Minter Ellison's Adelaide arm has been sentenced to ten-and-a-half years in jail after admitting that he stole nearly A$2.7m (£1.8m) from the top-tier Australian law firm.

Craig Raneberg, who was CFO of the firm's Adelaide and Darwin offices, pleaded guilty in March to 70 counts of theft between 2004 and 2011. The former CFO, who was made redundant in June 2011 after almost ten years at the firm, will face a non-parole period of six years and four months.

The South Australian District Court heard on Friday (20 July) that over a seven-year period Raneberg redirected partner funds into his own accounts and transferred money to real estate agents for residential properties.