Former fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir denied today that he stole £150 million from his business empire.

But he told an Old Bailey jury there was no dispute that the funds had been sent to a subsidiary company in Northern Cyprus.

This, he said, was to get better exchange rates to boost the company's expanding business interests abroad.

Asked by his barrister if he disputed the movement of funds to Unipac, Nadir replied: "Not at all."

Nadir was giving evidence 22 years after Polly Peck International was put into administration with debts of £550 million.

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Nadir, 71, of Mayfair, central London, denies 13 specimen counts of theft amounting to £34 million between 1987 and 1990.

Nadir told the court that by the time he left the UK for Northern Cyprus in May 1993, he was "a totally broken man".
He was being sued by the administrators of Polly Peck, had been made personally bankrupt and faced criminal court proceedings.

Nadir said: "I was a totally broken man. My health was in tatters, my hope of a fair trial was in tatters, I had zero hope of receiving a fair trial."

He denied any involvement in an alleged attempt to bribe the High Court judge presiding over the criminal proceedings, Mr Justice Tucker.

Nadir told the court that he first heard details of the alleged plot at a hearing in November 1992, when prosecutors warned that police may wish to interview the judge.

"It was a frightening situation for me," Nadir said. "I was in a court in front of a High Court judge, that I was relying on being given a fair trial, and now the prosecution was actually, in my understanding, putting the judge in the most difficult position.

He was arrested and was due to stand trial in 1993 but left Britain for Northern Cyprus, returning in August 2010.

The prosecution said his flight from the country for 17 years is evidence of dishonesty.

When administrators went to Northern Cyprus to recover assets, they found the money had vanished into a "black hole", it is alleged.

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• Asil Nadir court case

  Former business tycoon Asil Nadir (left) arrives at the Old Bailey, London, to begin his defence as he stands accused of stealing &pound;34 million from his Polly Peck empire.

• Asil Nadir court case

  Phil Hackett defence lawyer for former business tycoon Asil Nadir, arrives at the Old Bailey, London, to begin the defence of Asil Nadir who stands accused of stealing 34 million from his Polly Peck empire.

• Asil Nadir court case

  Former business tycoon Asil Nadir and his wife Nur arrive at the Old Bailey, London, where Mr Nadir will go on trial accused of stealing 34 million.

• Asil Nadir court case

  Asil Nadir (centre) arrives at the Old Bailey, in central London.

• Asil Nadir investigation

  Asil Nadir leaves the Old Bailey, central London, today.

• Asil Nadir returns to UK

  Asil Nadir arrives at his London home after he flew back into the UK following nearly two decades on the run.

• Asil Nadir returns to UK

  Asil Nadir arrives at his London home after he flew back into the UK following nearly two decades on the run.

• Asil Nadir returns to UK

  Asil Nadir arrives at his London home after he flew back into the UK following nearly two decades on the run.

• Asil Nadir returns to UK

  Asil Nadir (centre left) gets into a waiting car at Luton Airport after he arrived back in the UK, following nearly two decades on the run.

• Asil Nadir returns to UK

  Asil Nadir steps off a plane at Luton Airport after he arrived back in the UK, following nearly two decades on the run.

• Crime - Asil Nadir Fraud Case - London

  Polly Peck chairman Asil Nadir arriving at his London home after being released on bail from Wormwood Scrubs Prison, after investigations by the Serious Fraud Office.

• Crime - Asil Nadir Fraud Case - Cyprus

  FORMER POLLY PECK CHAIRMAN ASIL NADIR ARRIVING AT THE HIGH COURT.

• Crime - Asil Nadir Fraud Case - Cyprus

  NORTH CYPRUS: ASIL NADIR FOUNDER OF POLLY PECK, WHO JUMPED BAIL AND FLEW TO NORTH CYPRUS, AT NEWS CONFERENCE IN THE JASMINE COURT HOTEL WHICH IS OWNED BY MR NADIR.

• Crime - Asil Nadir Fraud Case - London

  Polly Peck chairman Asil Nadir. Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office are searching the London headquarters of Polly Peck.

• British Crime - Fraud - Asil Nadir - London - 1993

  Asil Nadir, former bankrupt chairman of the Polly Peck Empire.