Much of the £150m allegedly stolen by Asil Nadir from the Polly Peck conglomerate he ran throughout the 1980s went to finance his personal stake in the company as part of a covert effort to boost the value of the group’s shares, a court heard on Tuesday.
The former Polly Peck executive chairman denies 13 counts of theft. His prosecution by the Serious Fraud Office had been due to take place in 1993, but Nadir stunned the legal and City establishment by leaving for Northern Cyprus where he has lived until his return to the UK almost two years ago.
Philip Shears QC, for the prosecution, told a jury at the Old Bailey each penny increase in the price of Polly Peck increased the value of Nadir’s properly disclosed 25% stake in the group by £950,000. H