£14 Million Knightsbridge Mansion and Ascot Golf Club Seized in Fraud Crackdown
The wife of jailed banker Jahangir Hajiyev has agreed to hand over a £14 million Knightsbridge mansion and a luxury golf club in Ascot. This follows a National Crime Agency (NCA) civil recovery probe into how the properties were bought.
NCA Targets Fraud-Linked Assets
The NCA says the massive assets were snapped up through fraud, embezzlement, false accounting, and money laundering. Back in 2018, they slapped the first-ever unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) on the two UK properties, plus freezing orders to stop any sneaky sales.
Hajiyev, former Chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA), was convicted in Azerbaijan for fraud, embezzlement, and abuse of office related to his bank role. Currently, he’s serving a brutal 16-year jail term in Baku.
Money Trail Reveals Web of Offshore Accounts
NCA agents uncovered a tangled web of funds moving through accounts in the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Cyprus, Luxembourg, and more. A close associate of Hajiyev shuffled millions through shell companies to hide stolen IBA cash, funnelled into luxury UK properties.
The Knightsbridge home was bought via offshore trusts and Cyprus, Estonia, and Swiss bank accounts with no obvious links to Hajiyev, but all tied back to funds embezzled from IBA.
Legal Win for the NCA
After freezing the properties in March 2021 and filing a civil recovery case at the High Court in June 2023, the NCA scored a big win on 1 August. The court ordered forfeiture of 70% of the properties’ value.
The court confirmed the assets were purchased using criminal proceeds but did not rule on Mrs. Hajiyeva’s knowledge of the shady payments.
NCA’s Tim Quarrelle said: “Officers tracked these illicit funds across international banking systems and shell companies for over six years. This milestone highlights our relentless fight against dirty money flowing through the UK.”
Simon Armstrong, NCA Deputy Director Legal, added: “We overcame complex legal challenges using all powers under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 to recover millions. This result shows our determination to seize the proceeds of crime.”
