Tycoon Asil Nadir laid to rest in northern Cyprus

Business tycoon Asil Nadir, once jailed for stealing millions from his Polly Peck empire, was buried on Tuesday after a funeral in northern Cyprus.

Nadir, 83, died late on Sunday at a hospital in the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is only recognised by Turkey.

The flamboyant Turkish Cypriot businessman was convicted in 2012 of embezzling nearly 29 million pounds (then 37 million euros) from the UK conglomerate in the late 1980s.

He was sentenced to 10 years in jail and ordered to pay five million pounds in compensation.

In 2016, he was released from a Turkish prison just one night after being extradited from Britain.

Family members and Turkish Cypriot politicians, including TRNC leader Ersin Tatar, attended his funeral in Nicosia.

Tatar praised Nadir’s “strong” advocacy for international recognition of the breakaway state.

Nadir transformed Polly Peck from a small textile firm into a vast empire spanning fruit and electronics, but it collapsed in 1990 with debts of 550 million pounds.

He was arrested following its collapse but three years later fled to northern Cyprus, which has no extradition treaty with Britain.

He returned 17 years later vowing to clear his name but was convicted in 2012 on 10 counts of theft.

During his seven-month trial, Nadir was driven to court in a limousine and lived in a 23,000 pounds-a-month house in London’s exclusive Mayfair district, but told the compensation court he was penniless.