Polly Peck: the breaking of an entrepreneur?

Gallagher, James; Lauchlan, Janet; Steven, Mira

Abstract

Asil Nadir stands accused of fraud and theft. The sums involved are massive. He is openly accused of the misappropriation of about £371 million. In private, the figure is thought to be substantially greater. However, contradictory views are promoted to account for this situation and his ultimate downfall. For example, (i) the regulatory administrators allege that Nadir is a criminal who misappropriated company funds; (ii) Nadir's conspiracy theory counterclaims the accusations of fraud and theft with a claim of conspiracy based on the actions of the establishment (the Inland Revenue, the VAT Office, the Serious Fraud Squad, banks and pressure groups), which was bent on his downfall; and (iii) the alternative view is that Nadir was an accident waiting to happen. His cultural background, characteristics and traits are entrepreneurial in nature, but ultimately these proved dysfunctional given the structural development of his company.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 1996-01
• Deposit Date: Jun 11, 2015
• Journal: Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development
• Print ISSN: 1462-6004
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 3-12
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/eb020960
• Keywords: Small businesses; basnkruptcy; UK; conspiracy; financial irregularities; business and society
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/8631
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb020960