The spectacular rise and fall of Asil Nadir

Asil Nadir turned Polly Peck into a shareholders dream, until the company collapsed amid accusations of fraud

Jason Rodrigues

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 22 August 2012 14.01 BST

Asil Nadir, director of Polly Peck.

Asil Nadir, director of Polly Peck, during the company’s heyday. Photograph: Tony Mcgrath/Picture library

Though not entirely a rags to riches story, a young Asil Nadir once sold newspapers on the streets of Northern Cyprus before moving to Istanbul to study economics at university. During his college days, he supported himself by performing with his band, The Asils.

On graduating in 1963, Nadir moved to London’s east end, a journey his family had already made from Cyprus. Before long, Asil made his mark in the rag trade as chairman of garment firm Wearwell, before turning the loss-making ladies fashion group Polly Peck into a business empire.

Polly Peck sold Published in the Guardian on 14 February 1980, click on image for full story

He added packaging, electronics and fresh produce companies to the Polly Peck conglomerate, which later became listed as a FTSE 100 company.

Polly Peck’s rapid growth saw its value rise to £2 billion, making City traders fall in love with it during the boom times of the 1980s, some in the Square Mile calling it “wonder stock”. By 1990, Nadir was in the Sunday Times rich list, and a generous donor to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.

Polly Peck shares Published in the Guardian on 25 October 1990, click on image for full story

Then in August 1990, in a move that baffled the city, Nadir tried to buy up Polly Peck shares from investors, only to retreat from this position days later. It was too late: Nadir had spooked the market and Polly Peck’s shares plunged. The value of Nadir’s personal holding was rumoured to have dropped by more than £160m.

Worse was to come, when trading in Polly Peck was suspended and Nadir was quizzed by the Serious Fraud Office. When Polly Peck was forced into liquidation in October 1990, its creditors were owed £1.3bn.

PP fraud Published in the Guardian on 21 September 1990, click on image for full story

Nadir, who has always denied the 66 charges of false accounting and theft made against him, was alleged to have secretly transferred £34m out of the company, leading to its collapse.

In 1993, just days before he was due to face charges, Nadir was driven to an airfield near London, boarded a waiting business jet and fled to his native Northern Cyprus – which has no extradition treaty with Britain.

In 2010, having evaded the British courts for nearly 20 years, Nadir flew back to the UK, and declared himself delighted at the prospect of finally standing trial and “clearing his name”.

At his trial at the Old Bailey in 2012, Asil Nadir was found guilty of 10 charges involving the theft of millions of pounds from his Polly Peck empire.

The jury found him not guilty on three counts – all similar theft offences.

via The spectacular rise and fall of Asil Nadir | From the Guardian | guardian.co.uk.