In July 2012 Mates was selected as the Conservative candidate in the election for Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, notwithstanding his links to Asil Nadir who, in August 2012 was convicted of fraud amounting to £29m. In the 1990s, when a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Office, Mates expressed his support for Nadir by sending him a watch inscribed with the words "don't let the buggers get you down" – a reference to an ongoing investigation into Nadir's fraudulent financial activities by British authorities. In August 2012 Nadir was found guilty at the Old Bailey of fraud, and convicted of stealing nearly £29 million. Despite this Mates maintained his support for Nadir, including testifying in his defence at the Old Bailey.