Nadir hires Levitt's QC for court battle

FUGITIVE tycoon Asil Nadir has hired one of the legal world's most aggressive barristers to lead his fight against the Serious Fraud Office.

He has taken on Jonathan Goldberg QC. Nadir, who fled to Cyprus during his Polly Peck fraud trial in 1993, becomes the latest on a colourful client list, ranging from the crooked financial adviser Roger Levitt to East End gangster Charlie Kray.

Goldberg is known as one of the most formidable advocates at the Bar, having won dozens of criminal cases for clients.

No stranger to infuriating the Establishment, Goldberg negotiated the lenient 180 hours community service punishment for Levitt in 1993. The sentence, seen as a humiliation for the SFO, provoked a public outcry due to the scale of Levitt's crimes, which brought massive losses for celebrities including the late 1960's star Adam Faith.

Goldberg acted less successfully for the 70-year-old Kray in 2000, failing to persuade the jury that he should be allowed to die a free man. The least famous of the Kray brothers died at HM Prison, Parkhurst.

The 56-year-old QC flew to Cyprus at the weekend with Nadir's lawyers to discuss their strategy with the exile. Nadir was 'disappointed' that Goldberg insisted he delay his return to Britain, possibly until May, his lawyer said.

Nadir will initially attempt to persuade the courts that there had been an abuse of process by the SFO. But Goldberg wants to be in a position where he is prepared for a full trial before Nadir's return, in case the judge rejects his abuse charges and proceeds with the original trial.