Nadir jury still out as it mulls remaining nine theft charges
THE jury in the trial of former tycoon Asil Nadir was sent home yesterday after an eighth day of deliberations at the Old Bailey over theft charges.
On Monday, the jury found Nadir guilty of three counts of theft amounting to £5.5m, and cleared him of a fourth count.
The jury is set to begin deliberations again this morning on a further nine counts of theft with which Nadir, the founder of Polly Peck International (PPI), is charged.
Nadir, 71, has been charged with 13 specimen counts of theft in all, totalling £34m.
He was found guilty on Monday of stealing £1.3m to buy PPI shares, £1m to spend on antiques, and £3.25m which went to 19 different destinations. He was cleared of a fourth count of theft of £2.5m.
PPI was a FTSE listed conglomerate and a stock market star in the 1980s until it collapsed in 1990 with debts of £550m. Its interests ranged from South American fruit to Japanese consumer electronics.
The trial at the Old Bailey, which started in January, followed Nadir’s return to the UK in August 2010 after a 17-year absence.