Asil Nadir's £34m trial delayed

Asil Nadir and his wife Nur (Reuters)

The trial of former fugitive businessman Asil Nadir for the theft of £34 million has been put off to next year.

Nadir, 69, was due to be tried in October but a new trial date of January 10 2012 was set by judge Mr Justice Holroyde today.

The trial is due to last up to four months at the Old Bailey. Nadir is on conditional bail.

A pre-trial hearing will be held on November 10.

Nadir was arrested in 1990 following the collapse of his Polly Peck business empire.

He fled Britain for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1993 before his trial could take place.

But he returned in August last year and is due to put his case to a jury when the trial starts.

Nadir is accused of 13 counts of false accounting, alleging theft from Polly Peck.