7 Bedford Row and 6 Kings Bench Walk have taken leading roles as the former head of Polly Peck International (PPI) Asil Nadir was yesterday (22 August) found guilty of stealing almost £30m from the conglomerate.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) mounted a prosecution led by 7 Bedford Row barristers Philip Shears QC and Tom Elmer and Gareth Patterson and Esther Schutzer-Weissmann from 6 Kings Bench Walk Chambers, with Nadir found guilty of 10 counts of theft, after stealing a total of £28.6m from PPI between 1987 and 1990.

Fraud specialist City law firm Bark & Co, which has been acting for Nadir since 2010, instructed Philip Hackett QC and Louisa Collins of Argent Chambers as defence counsel alongside 33 Chancery Lane's Christopher Convey.

An Old Bailey jury also found Nadir not guilty on three additional counts of theft; however, Nadir was today (23 August) handed a sentence of 10 years' imprisonment by Justice Holroyde. He will serve half of the sentence before being released on licence.

Shears commented: "We are delighted with the result of this prosecution, the culmination of much hard work to bring to fruition twenty years after the event. The sentence received by Mr Nadir is in line with what we expected. We now await the result of a further hearing on 27 September into claims for compensation by those who also suffered as a result of Mr Nadir's frauds."

Nadir, who was originally charged with theft from PPI in 1993, fled the UK that year to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a state not recognised by the UK and with no extradition arrangements. He returned to the UK voluntarily in August 2010 to clear his name.

Responding to the verdicts, SFO director David Green QC hailed the conviction as "a remarkable achievement" for the SFO.

"It reflects the resolute commitment and determination of the prosecution teams and counsel who have worked on this case since 1990, led latterly at the SFO by Clare Whitaker and Julia Ambler, and strongly supported by successive directors."

Green added that the case confirmed "the proper role of the SFO.. .to investigate and where appropriate, to prosecute the most difficult cases of fraud and corruption".

The news comes after the SFO recently dropped its probe into property investor Vincent Tchenguiz, a case which has raised questions about how the agency pursues complex economic crime cases. The businessman has indicated that he will press forward with a £100m claim against the SFO.

Click here for Justice Holroyde's sentencing remarks.