Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir, jailed in Britain in 2012 for stealing millions from his business empire, was released in Turkey on Friday shortly after he was returned there to complete his sentence.
A court ruling seen by Reuters said Nadir would be released on probation, serving the rest of his sentence outside prison, and that there was no need to monitor him.
Nadir was flown from London to Istanbul on Thursday evening after British authorities accepted his request to serve the rest of his sentence in Turkey. It was not immediately clear if his release was part of the agreement.
His sister Bilge Nevzat thanked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for their efforts in her brother's extradition and release, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
The 74-year-old was jailed for 10 years in 2012 for stealing 29 million pounds ($41.8 million) from Polly Peck, an ailing textiles company which he transformed into one of the most successful British firms of the 1980s.
Its later collapse was one of Britain's biggest corporate failures and was an embarrassment for the Conservative Party, which had accepted big donations from Nadir in the 1980s.
Earlier on Friday, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman in Britain said government policy was to remove foreign criminals to their own countries.
"Arrangements were made with the Turkish government for his removal as part of our prisoner transfer agreement," she said.
Nadir was escorted to a police station on arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, private news agency Dogan reported. Television footage showed him sitting in the back of a car as it arrived at the gates of Silivri prison, west of Istanbul.
The repatriation took place after Nadir repaid 2 million pounds ($2.87 million) he owed the legal aid agency and 5 million pounds in compensation he paid earlier.
Polly Peck collapsed in 1990 when British officials began a fraud investigation. Nadir was arrested but after being released on bail fled the country in a private plane to live in northern Cyprus, where he was beyond the reach of British law.
The self-declared Turkish Cypriot state set up after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus is not recognized internationally.
Nadir returned to London in 2010 to clear his name after 17 years on the run, but he was found guilty of 10 out of 13 charges of theft.
