A British citizen, and chairman of the Anglo-Arab Organisation, Nadhmi has had more drama in his life than any playwright could do justice to. Owner and manager of construction and trading companies in Iraq, he was jailed by Saddam Husseins regime and left the country in 1980.

By then he had founded General Mediterranean Holdings, based in Luxembourg, which has grown into an international powerhouse with at least US$2.4bn in assets and annual profits nudging US$150m. Although Auchi has built 120 companies he continues to be dogged by controversy in 2003 he was convicted in France of receiving illegal commissions and given a 15-month suspended sentence.

Last year his daughter Luma was among nine drug firm executives to be charged with conspiracy to defraud Britains National Health Service after a four-year Serious Fraud Office investigation.

An alleged price-fixing ring is said to have defrauded the service out of many millions of dollars by inflating the price of some of Britains most commonly prescribed medicines.