I had £70m to save Polly Peck, claims former fugitive Nadir

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I had £70m to save Polly Peck, claims former fugitive Nadir

June 27th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

He said there was no dispute the funds had been sent to a subsidiary company in Cyprus
Claims PPI wasn’t insolvent when the board put it into administration in 1990
He denies 13 specimen counts of theft amounting to £34million between 1987 and 1990

By
Rebecca Camber

PUBLISHED:

09:01 EST, 26 June 2012

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UPDATED:

19:37 EST, 26 June 2012

Asil Nadir arriving at the Old Bailey

In court: Former fugitive Asil Nadir arriving at the Old Bailey where he denied stealing £150m from his empire

For the thousands of investors who lost their life savings it has been a long wait for an explanation.

But yesterday, more than 20 years after he went on the run following the collapse of his business empire, Asil Nadir claimed that Polly Peck International was on the brink of being bailed out when it went bust.

The 71-year-old, who is accused of stealing £150million, told the Old Bailey that he was on the verge of saving his £2billion firm after securing £70million in loans from Turkish banks and cash from his own family.

Speaking for the first time since he returned to Britain in August 2010 to face trial, Nadir said the decision to place his company in administration was taken as he was flying back to Britain from Turkey before he managed to tell the board about the cash injection.

Following the firm’s collapse in 1990, Nadir explained that he had no choice but to flee the country after being unfairly accused of bribing a High Court judge who was to try him for allegedly plundering Polly Peck.

Yesterday the former fugitive pleaded his innocence as he took the stand. Dressed in a tailored suit, he claimed he was a ‘broken man without hope’ who could have dropped dead any minute had he not fled.

He boasted of Polly Peck: ‘Towards the middle of 1990, it was one of the best-performing companies in the world.’

Nadir claimed the firm was not insolvent when it folded, saying: ‘I think it had a tremendous future and this attitude was shared by the top brokers and investors in this country and worldwide. Finance was available from Turkey.’

Following the collapse of the conglomerate with debts of £550million, Nadir fled in a private plane as he faced trial for theft.

Asil Nadir and wife Nur

Support: Asil Nadir, 71, and his 28-year-old second wife Nur, who watched from the back of the court. Nadir was giving evidence five months after the trial began

The tycoon spent nearly two decades in
his native northern Cyprus after allegedly stealing millions to splash
out on Mayfair mansions, country estates, antiques, race horses, fast
cars and gifts for his family.

But yesterday Nadir insisted that he
was ‘not guilty’, suggesting the cash was sent to a subsidiary company
in northern Cyprus to get better exchange rates when making new
investments abroad.

He claimed he had been the victim of
injustice and said he had ‘zero chance of a fair trial’ after being
accused of bribing a High Court judge who was to oversee his trial back
in 1993. An inquiry was launched into claims that there had been
attempts to bribe Mr Justice Tucker, jurors heard.

But the Crown Prosecution Service found there was no credible evidence to support the allegations.

Speaking haltingly, Nadir was watched
closely by his glamorous second wife Nur, 28, yesterday as he told how
his health was wrecked after being sued by the administrators of Polly
Peck, made bankrupt and put on trial.

‘I was a totally broken man. My health
was in tatters, my hope of a fair trial was in tatters, I had zero hope
of receiving a fair trial.

‘I could drop dead at any minute,’ he said.

In a raid by bankruptcy officials in April 1993, all his papers including his defence papers were seized.

Two weeks later Nadir left Britain on May 4.

He is facing trial over 13 specimen
counts of theft amounting to £33million and $2.5million. But Prosecutor
Philip Shears, QC has told the jury the ‘much bigger picture’ is that he
stole £150million from the major international conglomerate which had
over 200 subsidiaries trading in food, electronics, textiles and
leisure.

Nadir, of Belgravia, central London, denies theft.

The trial continues.