Tycoon Nadir set for return to UK to face fraud trial

Published on Friday 30 July 2010 16:33

AN OLD Bailey judge has agreed to grant bail to fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir, paving the way for one of the most high-profile fraud trials in years.

Nadir, a former Conservative Party donor, fled to Turkish Cyprus in a private jet in 1993, as he faced 66 counts of theft involving fraud allegations worth 34 million that came to light after his Polly Peck business empire collapsed.

Since then, he has refused to return from the territory - his place of birth, which has no extradition treaty with Britain - unless the courts granted him bail during proceedings.

That hurdle has been overcome, after the Serious Fraud Office agreed not to oppose bail if the stringent conditions were imposed. Nadir, 69, could return within a month.

Mr Justice Bean agreed to waive custody, and said: "I think it is desirable that the legal limbo as to Mr Nadir's bail status should be brought to an end and he should be given the opportunity to submit to the jurisdiction of this court by attending in person."

At its peak in 1989, Polly Peck was a FTSE 100 company worth 1.7 billion, on paper at least. That year it bought Del Monte's fresh food business from RJR Nabisco for $875m (560m at today's exchange rate), to become the largest fresh fruits distributor in the world.

Nadir's group, which started life as a humble textiles business, also had interests in clothing and electronics.