Jury out on remaining Nadir charges (From The Argus)

Jury out on remaining Nadir charges

1:21am Tuesday 21st August 2012 in National News © Press Association 2013

The jury in the trial of former fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir will continue deliberating on nine charges against him - the day after they left him facing a prison sentence for plundering millions from his Polly Peck business empire

The Old Bailey jury on Monday found Nadir, 71, guilty of three counts of theft amounting to a total of more than £5.5 million.

Nadir was convicted of stealing £1.3 million to secretly buy Polly Peck shares to bolster its Stock Exchange price. He was also found guilty of stealing £1 million spent on antiques and £3.25 million which went to 19 different destinations.

But he was cleared of a fourth count of stealing £2.5 million and using it to pay his income tax bill.

The three women and seven men will on Tuesday continue deliberating on nine further counts after being given a majority direction.

Nadir, of Mayfair, central London, looked shocked as he stood in the dock for the verdicts. He denied all 13 counts representing theft of £34 million from Polly Peck International (PPI) between 1987 and 1990.

The court heard that Nadir fled Britain in 1993 for his native northern Cyprus before he could be tried and returned voluntarily in 2010. He told the court he left because he was "a broken man without hope" and complained about the Serious Fraud Office investigation.

The prosecution said the charges were specimen counts representing a total theft of £150 million from Polly Peck. The firm was one of the success stories of the Thatcher era and one of the best-performing companies on the Stock Exchange - but it collapsed in 1990 with debts of £550 million.

Investigators were said to have found a "black hole" after going to northern Cyprus, where the money had been transferred, the court heard.

Philip Shears QC, prosecuting, said Nadir was able with only his signature to transfer millions of pounds abroad through a complex series of companies and banks. The stolen money went on making Nadir and his friends and associates rich, it was alleged. Nadir said money sent abroad was replaced with Turkish lira.