THE HAGUE, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - The prosecutor in the war crimes trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor said Thursday that a judgement on the case could be delivered by the end of next year.

Prosecutor Steven Rapp said lawyers hoped to finish presenting their case against Taylor by the Christmas break this December or the following month and the defence would then need between four and six months to present its case.

By the end of 2009, he estimated, 'we would finally be in a position to have a conviction against Mr. Taylor.'

The first ex-African head of state to appear before an international tribunal, Taylor faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The former president, whose trial began this year, is accused of controlling rebel forces in neighbouring Sierra Leone who went on a blood diamond-fuelled rampage of killing, mutilation and rape during the 1991-2001 civil war there.

He denies the charges.

Rapp told AFP that the prosecution, along with officials from the United Nations and concerned countries, was scouring for the ex-president's assets for eventual redistribution to their rightful owners should Taylor be found guilty.

'Various countries where suspect accounts with assets have been found are undertaking their own criminal investigations,' he said.

Basing his estimates on UN calculations, he claimed Taylor had embezzled some 600 million dollars (434 million euros) from Liberian coffers during his six years as president (1997-2003) of the west African country.