Asil Nadir settles back into luxury as he awaits £34m fraud case

Asil Nadir settled back into life in Britain yesterday after returning to face £34 million fraud charges following 17 years on the run.

The wealthy businessman and his wife Nur spent their first night in the rented luxury house in Mayfair, London, where he must live under bail conditions.

They emerged from the property just before 10am looking confident and relaxed.

Nadir, 69, wore a blue double-breasted suit, slightly crumpled from his flight from Northern Cyprus back to the UK, with a silk handkerchief and latticed leather slip-on shoes.

His wife wore a tight-fitting black designer dress ruffled at the front and split to the thigh, accessorised with a distinctive black-and-white scarf and what appeared to be a 1,100 black Marcello de Cartier handbag.

Nadir smiled for the photographers waiting outside the house, which is reportedly costing him 20,000 a month to rent, before being escorted by his bodyguards to a waiting car.

The tycoon is expected to hold meetings with his lawyers, who include leading criminal defence barrister William Clegg QC, ahead of a hearing at the Old Bailey on September 3.

Nadir was facing 66 counts of theft relating to the collapse of his Polly Peck empire when he fled Britain in May 1993 for Northern Cyprus, which has no extradition treaty with the UK.

He flew back to face the fraud charges, insisting he was innocent and had not done a "deal" with the British authorities.

The former Conservative Party donor refused to rule out giving more money to the new government, telling Sky News: "We will see how life goes. We've got a little injustice to sort out."

Earlier this year, Nadir's legal team indicated he was willing to return to face trial in Britain as long as he was granted bail.

The Serious Fraud Office agreed not to oppose bail in return for stringent conditions.

Under the terms of his 250,000 bail, the businessman must hand over his newly issued British passport, wear an electronic tag and report weekly to a local police station.

Nadir appears anxious to maintain good relations with the British media - members of his team offered reporters tea in fine china cups.