Fears were growing in legal circles that it might prove impossible to try Asil Nadir on the multiple fraud allegations that followed the collapse of his Polly Peck Empire 20 years ago.

A lengthy jury trial of the 69-year-old would be a “prosecutorial nightmare” unprecedented in the history of the Serious Fraud Office, legal experts with knowledge of the case warned.

They suggested that there is a strong likelihood that the court would be persuaded by Nadir’s lawyers to throw the case out on the grounds that too much time had lapsed. They also warned that crucial documents may have been lost. Rumours have been circulating that some computer records have been corrupted.

Returning to Britain in a blaze of publicity, Nadir repeated claims that he is battling an “immense injustice and tremendous abuse of power”. His lawyers are expected to stress the practical challenges of undertaking a trial after so long. Simon Bowers, The Guardian.

These fears will turn out to be reality, why otherwise would the odious Nadir return – the real injustice is that a wealthy fraudsters skips the country and then returns a few decades later with the expectation he won’t even face a trial.