Polly Peck Tycoon Asil Nadir claimed he fled Britain because he had been left 'a broken man with no hope of a fair trial' after police launched an investigation into allegations he had bribed a judge.
The revelation came to light as he took the stand for the first time in his long-running theft trial in which he is accused of plundering £150 million from his company.
Today it also emerged at the Old Bailey that Turkey asked Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government to intervene to save Nadir’s business empire as it crumbled around him.
Turkish president Turgut Ozal wrote to the then PM expressing his concerns that the multinational was being undermined by Greek Cypriots to damage the northern Cypriot economy and ultimately Turkey itself.
In the letter sent on Mr Nadir’s behalf in September 1990, the late President expressed his concerns as Polly Peck employed thousands of people in Turkey and Northern Cyprus.
Poly Peck’s (PPI) collapse would hinder the finding of a lasting solution to the Cyprus question as both sides needed economies on a parity with each other, the court heard.
The Turkish finance minister Gunes Taner then wrote 16 days later to then Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd asking for more time to examine what support the Turkish government could provide to PPI.
However Asil Nadir, 71, giving evidence at his trial, said weeks later Mr Hurd issued an 'ultimatum' on a Saturday afternoon in that if £100million was not forthcoming by Monday noon 'everything was over'.

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