Assange's celebrity backers likely to lose £340,000 bail money

London - Celebrity supporters of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange have reportedly lost 200,000 pounds they gave for his bail.

WikiLeaks supporters paid thousands of pounds each as security to help Assange get bail while he fought extradition to Sweden.

The cash was forfeited when he broke his bail conditions and fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Now, nine other supporters face losing their money offered as a 'surety' for his bail, the Guardian reports.

A Westminster magistrates court clerk revealed that a 200,000 pounds security pot believed to have been paid into by high-profile backers, including Jemima Khan, film directors Ken Loach and Michael Moore, and millionaire publisher Felix Dennis was forfeited at an earlier hearing in July.

According to the paper, district judge Howard Riddle adjourned a further hearing until October to decide whether nine other backers should also lose their money.

All nine of those listed in the hearing had pledged a total of 140,000 pounds.

All in all, Assange's backers could lose 340,000 pounds, the paper said.