Asil Nadir set free in Turkey after being extradited by Britain

Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir, who was jailed in Britain in 2012 for stealing millions from his business empire, was set free on April 22, one day after he was extradited by Britain to Turkey.

Nadir was flown from London to Istanbul after British authorities accepted his request to serve the rest of his sentence in Turkey. He arrived on a Turkish Airlines plane and was escorted to a police station at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. He was released after spending one night in Istanbul's Silivri prison.

Meanwhile, Nadir's sister Bilge Nevzat thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu for their efforts in her brother's extradition and release.

The 74-year-old was jailed for 10 years in 2012 for stealing 29 million pounds from Polly Peck, an ailing textiles company that he transformed into one of the most successful British firms of the 1980s. 

Its later collapse was one of Britain's biggest corporate failures and was an embarrassment for the Conservative Party, which accepted big donations from Nadir in the 1980s. 

Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Çavu?o?ly said Nadir's transfer to Turkey was being watched very closely and that the necessary steps were taken after Nadir's family in Cyprus met with the President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an regarding the issue. "His family had a request from our president, and so we took the necessary initiatives. Concerning the crime, there were some differences between Britain and Turkey. As the British officials concerns were removed, Nadir's transfer to Turkey was decided," said Çavu?o?lu.   

Commenting on the decision to send Nadir to Turkey, a British Justice Ministry spokeswoman said foreign criminals should be properly...