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| Guarding the entrance to The City of London and its' Financial Centre |
Mr Asil Nadir, an undischarged bankrupt - in the UK, was charged (before fleeing from the UK) with fraud and 66 counts of theft when he was chief executive of Polly Peck, a business empire which traded in products as diverse as groceries to electronics. He mixed with the political and showbiz elite, bankrolled politicians and caused one MP, Michael Mates to ask questions in Westminster for cash!
It was alleged that he secretly transferred some £34 million out of Polly Peck and this caused the empire to fall apart, leading to its collapse and shareholders large and small, very out of pocket. Just before he was due to stand trial in 1993, he fled the country to live in luxury in his native Cyprus. Som six years ago, he acquired a 26-year old wife.
The UK does not have an extradition agreement with northern Cyprus, as the UK does not recognise or have diplomatic relations with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The TRNC is recognised only by Turkey.
During a London bail hearing, lawyers acting for Mr Nadir argued in July this year that Nadir was never legally on the run. In 1992 he pleaded not guilty to the Serious Fraud Offices [SFO] allegations, and in what appears to be a lapse of process was allowed to leave the court without a judge lawfully deciding whether he should be bailed or remanded!
Attitudes changed when Mr Nadir fled in 1993, a judge immediately issued an arrest warrant for breach of bail. However, the Old Bailey ruled that Mr Nadir had not breached his bail because bail had never been granted in the first place.
By returning to the UK, and no one can really understand why Mr Nadir has agreed to return, leaving behind an oppulent lifestyle, surrender his newly issued one trip passport, wear an elctronic tag, report weekly to a police station and stay away from Airports!
Clearly some kind of timewarp seems to be in operation, as anyone 'borrowing a huge jet aircraft from a friend ' to return to the UK, rolling out the red carpet for 24 hour Sky News and a fellow News International stablemate The Times, ensures not only widespread pre-trail Mk2 publicity but makes it equally harder for the prosecution to pull together the threads of a 20 year old case.
Witnesses die off or the memory fades but against this in austerity Britain this over-the-top arrival show of riches is unlikely to endear the no longer dapper slightly seedy Nadir, to the financially hard pressed UK population.
Nadir is keen to argue that as some 17+ years has passed, his trail should be short and sweet, essentially an aquittal, equally the prosecution will say that as Nadir put himself beyond the law, the time bar has no force.
One thing is certain Nadir says it will all be over in a matter of months, it could well be that by the time the SFO (not the speediest of organisations) gets the court bundles together, the defendant could well be wearing the electronic tag for several years....I wonder if Asprey will create a long lasting one encased in Platinum or Gold?
Contributor: Media & Aviation Expert Julian Bray ISDN Interview down line ++44(0)1733 555 319 G722 & APT-X Dual Codec Glensound C5 Landline: 01733 345581 Mobile:07944 217476
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