Disgraced army veteran Ben Roberts-Smith will have to come up with almost $1 million to pursue his defamation appeal against news publications over reports he engaged in war crimes in Afghanistan.

The Federal Court ruled in June that articles published by Nine newspapers and The Canberra Times alleging Roberts-Smith’s involvement in murders of four unarmed prisoners while deployed in Afghanistan were substantially true.

The Victoria Cross recipient has not been criminally charged and has since appealed the decision to the full court.

On Thursday and Friday, Justice Nye Perram made orders after agreement between Roberts-Smith and the media companies that the decorated soldier should pay $910,000.

The money will be paid in three instalments and will act as security for the media companies, to be handed over if Roberts-Smith loses the appeal.

It will sit in an interest-bearing account selected by the court until the legal challenge is either accepted or dismissed after a 10-day appeal hearing scheduled for February.

The money comes on top of an estimated $25 million legal bill for Roberts-Smith and the news companies during a bitterly-fought defamation case that involved over 100 days of hearings.

The newspapers are pursuing their costs against the former soldier, as well as the Seven Network and billionaire Kerry Stokes’ private business Australian Capital Equity, which financially backed the war veteran in his lawsuit.

The Office of the Special Investigator and Australian Federal Police are jointly investigating 33 alleged offences by defence force members in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.

The OSI was established after an inquiry by the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force into soldiers’ conduct in Afghanistan.

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– AAP