Fugitive Nadir vows to return

Mr Nasir has always denied any wrongdoing

Tycoon Asil Nadir who fled to northern Cyprus 10 years ago to escape charges of theft has vowed to return to the UK to clear his name.

Mr Nadir, the former head of Polly Peck, absconded in 1993 after the collapse of his business empire.

He faced 66 charges of theft amounting to £34 million ($50m).

In a statement he said he is ready to leave Turkish-controlled Cyprus, which has no extradition agreement with the UK, and return home.

Mr Nadir's lawyer said his client would argue that the charges should be dropped because investigators from the Serious Fraud Office abused their powers, making a fair trial impossible.

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He reportedly hopes to make an application for abuse of process and expects it to be dealt with swiftly.

Lawyer Peter Krivinskas told the Times newspaper Mr Nadir, 58, could return to the UK within three weeks.

"He's confident his application will be successful," Mr Krivinskas told the paper.

In a statement, Mr Nadir, who holds Turkish citizenship, said the accusations against him were "baseless".

In 1998 a pilot who flew Mr Nadir out of the UK on a private jet was jailed for two years for committing an act tending and intended to pervert the course of justice.

Peter Dimond was freed by the Court of Appeal in 1999.

Mr Dimond said he had never doubted Mr Nadir's integrity and always believed he would return to the UK when he had had time to prepare his defence.