Asil Nadir

Asil Nadir (born 1 May 1941) is a Turkish Cypriot former businessman, who was chief executive of Polly Peck, which he took over as a small textile company, growing it during the 1980s to become one of the United Kingdom's top 100 FTSE-listed companies, with interests in consumer electronics, fruit distribution and packaging. In 1990, the business collapsed following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and charges were brought against Asil Nadir on 70 counts of false accounting and theft, which he denied. From 1993 until 2010 Nadir lived in Northern Cyprus, having fled there to escape a trial in the UK. He remained a fugitive from British justice until 26 August 2010, when he returned to London to face trial. His trial commenced at the Old Bailey on 3 September 2010, on 13 specimen charges of false accounting and theft totalling £34m. He was found guilty of 10 counts of theft totalling £29m and on 23 August 2012 was sentenced to 10 years in prison.