Greedy Business Tycoon Transferred To Turkey Jail

Polly Peck was an ailing textiles company but Nadir transformed into one of the most successful British firms of the 1980s.

The company collapsed in 1990 when British officials began a fraud investigation.

Nadir was arrested but after being released on bail fled the country in a private plane to live in northern Cyprus, beyond the reach of British law.

Asil Nadir, who stole millions from the British company Polly Peck, has been transferred from the UK to a Turkish prison.

The Turkish-Cypriot businessman was flown from London to Istanbul on Thursday evening after UK authorities accepted his request to serve the rest of his sentence in Turkey.

The 74-year-old was jailed for 10 years in 2012 for stealing £29m from Polly Peck.

The Ministry of Justice said Nadir had been moved after paying £5m in compensation and repaying £2m of legal aid he was given.

"It is right that foreign criminals are properly punished but not at the expense of British taxpayers," a spokesman said.

"This Government is committed to removing foreign criminals to their own countries."

Asil Nadir returned to London in 2010 to clear his name after 17 years on the run, but he was found guilty of 10 out of 13 charges of theft.

After hos conviction, Judge Mr Justice Holroyde told him: "It seems to me that you already had an extravagant lifestyle as a result of your success in business. 

"It follows that you were a wealthy man who stole out of pure greed."