This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18590026#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Asil Nadir trial: Polly Peck 'had bright future' | Asil Nadir trial: Polly Peck 'had bright future' |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Polly Peck would have had a bright future had it not been put into administration, its former owner Asil Nadir has told the Old Bailey. | Polly Peck would have had a bright future had it not been put into administration, its former owner Asil Nadir has told the Old Bailey. |
| Mr Nadir, 71, is accused of stealing nearly £150m from his Polly Peck empire but denies all charges. | Mr Nadir, 71, is accused of stealing nearly £150m from his Polly Peck empire but denies all charges. |
| Mr Nadir said the firm's board of directors put it into administration in October 1990 despite his protests. | Mr Nadir said the firm's board of directors put it into administration in October 1990 despite his protests. |
| He said he had been offered £70m in refinancing from Turkish banks on the "instigation" of Turkey's president. | He said he had been offered £70m in refinancing from Turkish banks on the "instigation" of Turkey's president. |
| 'Broken man' | 'Broken man' |
| Mr Nadir, who fled to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, denied that the company, Polly Peck International (PPI), had been insolvent. | |
| He told the court: "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. The amount discussed was £70m to obtain a standstill. | |
| "The finance was from three top Turkish banks on the instigation of the president of Turkey. It was a committed financial arrangement." | |
| Answering questions from his lawyer, Philip Hackett QC, Mr Nadir said he began his business life as a six-year-old selling newspapers in a small town in Cyprus. | Answering questions from his lawyer, Philip Hackett QC, Mr Nadir said he began his business life as a six-year-old selling newspapers in a small town in Cyprus. |
| He later came to England and in 1980 acquired Polly Peck, a small textile company with a turnover of £2m a year. He turned it into a conglomerate worth £2bn. | He later came to England and in 1980 acquired Polly Peck, a small textile company with a turnover of £2m a year. He turned it into a conglomerate worth £2bn. |
| Mr Nadir gave evidence as the defence case opened, five months after the trial started. | |
| He told the Old Bailey he was "a totally broken man" when he left the UK months before being prosecuted for fraud in 1993. | He told the Old Bailey he was "a totally broken man" when he left the UK months before being prosecuted for fraud in 1993. |
| "My health was in tatters," he said. "My hope of a fair trial was in tatters, I had zero hope of receiving a fair trial." | "My health was in tatters," he said. "My hope of a fair trial was in tatters, I had zero hope of receiving a fair trial." |
| Administration debts | Administration debts |
| Mr Nadir returned to the UK in August 2010 to face the charges. | Mr Nadir returned to the UK in August 2010 to face the charges. |
| He was asked whether he had stolen money from Polly Peck - was he guilty or not guilty? "Not guilty" he said. | He was asked whether he had stolen money from Polly Peck - was he guilty or not guilty? "Not guilty" he said. |
| Mr Nadir's case is that the pounds he took out of the company were covered by Turkish lira from investors and his family. | Mr Nadir's case is that the pounds he took out of the company were covered by Turkish lira from investors and his family. |
| He said Turkish investors benefited because they were putting money into a company rooted in the hard currencies of the UK and US. | He said Turkish investors benefited because they were putting money into a company rooted in the hard currencies of the UK and US. |
| Asked by his barrister if he disputed the movement of funds to a subsidiary company in northern Cyprus, Unipac, Mr Nadir replied: "Not at all." | Asked by his barrister if he disputed the movement of funds to a subsidiary company in northern Cyprus, Unipac, Mr Nadir replied: "Not at all." |
| He said this was to get better exchange rates to boost the company's expanding business interests abroad. | He said this was to get better exchange rates to boost the company's expanding business interests abroad. |
| The prosecution alleges that Mr Nadir stole nearly £150m from his business empire for himself, his family and friends, through a complex series of transactions, including to a bank he owned in northern Cyprus. | |
| The jury was told that Mr Nadir, of Mayfair, central London, had abused his position as chairman and chief executive of PPI to steal from the company. | |
| Polly Peck International was put into administration with debts of £550m in 1990. Mr Nadir denies 13 specimen counts of theft amounting to £34m between 1987 and 1990. | Polly Peck International was put into administration with debts of £550m in 1990. Mr Nadir denies 13 specimen counts of theft amounting to £34m between 1987 and 1990. |