| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Fashion industry |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Defunct | 1991 |
| Fate | Bankrupt & broken up |
| Headquarters | London, UK |
Key people | Asil Nadir (CEO) |
| Products | Textile |
Number of employees | Circa 17,000 |
Polly Peck International (PPI) was a small British textile company which expanded rapidly in the 1980s and became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index before collapsing in 1991 with debts of £1.3 billion, eventually leading to the flight of its CEO, Asil Nadir to Northern Cyprus in 1993.[1] Polly Peck was one of several corporate scandals that led to the reform of UK company law, resulting in the early versions of the UK Corporate Governance Code.
On 26 August 2010 Nadir returned to the UK to try to clear his name. Prosecutors alleged that he stole more than £150 million from Polly Peck and he faced trial on 13 specimen charges totalling £34 million. Nadir was found guilty on 10 counts of theft totalling £29 million. On 23 August 2012 at the Old Bailey he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.[2]