Former fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir has been found guilty of three counts of theft by an Old Bailey jury, which is still considering a further nine counts.

Asil Nadir faced 13 counts of theft over the collapse of his Polly Peck business empire (Picture: AP)

The 71-year-old, from Mayfair, is accused of looting his Polly Peck business empire of £34million between 1987 and 1990.

Nadir, who was cleared of one count of theft by the jury of three women and seven men, fled Britain in 1993 but returned in 2010.

Mr Justice Holroyde has told the jury at the Old Bailey that he will accept verdicts of nine to one on the remaining nine charges.

The jury has been considering its verdicts for seven days after a seven-month trial in which two jurors were discharged for health reasons.

Nadir, who originally fled to his native northern Cyprus, denied all 13 charges and claimed he was unfairly treated by the Serious Fraud Office.

He looked shocked as the verdicts were announced, while his wife Nur, 28, looked on from the side of the dock.

Polly Peck, a conglomerate dealing in fruit, leisure, textiles and electronics, was one of the success stories of the 1980s but collapsed in 1990 with debts of around £550m.