Asil Nadir and the Rise and Fall of Polly Peck

Asil Nadir, a Turkish-Cypriot, rose from being a small-time trader in London's East End to the glamorous role of head of the dramatically successful Polly Peck company. In the heyday of his spectacular advance, Nadir became vastly wealthy, spending millions on country mansions and art treasures, and entertaining celebrities across the world, as he carried out one coup after another. Polly Peck shares boomed as investors' money poured into the company's coffers, and Nadir seized control of blue-chip concerns like the Del Monte fruit giant in America, and Japan's prestige Sansui electronics manufacturer. Then it all started to go wrong. Doubts were expressed about the company's assets, selling began on a massive scale, Polly Peck finally collapsed as Fraud Squad investigators moved in, and a complex legal case followed. David Barchard, a financial journalist, has known Asil Nadir for many years and has lived in Turkey, where Nadir's power-base remains. Here he charts Nadir's rise and fall, aided by interviews with many of the key witnesses.