Turkish Cypriot businessman and former fugitive Asil Nadir has died aged 83, his British lawyer has said.
Once one of Britain’s richest men and a Conservative Party donor, Nadir was convicted in August 2012 of theft amounting to £28.8 million from his Polly Peck International (PPI) business empire in the late 1980s.
He fled Britain for his native Northern Cyprus in May 1993 but returned voluntarily in August 2010 to clear his name and face trial.
Nadir had admitted taking money from fruits-to-electronics conglomerate Polly Peck, but said he always balanced the books by paying money into other parts of the business.
In 2012 he was convicted at the Old Bailey of plundering millions from the business.
He had been a wealthy man and had an extravagant lifestyle when he stole millions from his business empire.
In 2016, four years into a 10-year sentence, he applied to serve the remainder of his term in Turkey.
But after his transfer there, he was released after one night in jail.
Mr Nadir’s British lawyer, Giles Bark-Jones, confirmed his death to the PA news agency.
Born in Lefke, Cyprus, in 1941, Mr Nadir sold newspapers on the streets aged six before moving to London with his family.
In the 1970s, the Turkish Cypriot administration invited him to take over crop export plants on fertile orchards seized from displaced Greek Cypriots.
A charismatic figure, Nadir had an interest in real estate and sold his Kibris media group in 2022.
He was also a major donor to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives and became a frequent visitor to Downing Street.
