The wife of convicted fraudster Jahangir Hajiyev has agreed to forfeit a mansion in Knightsbridge worth approximately £14m and a golf club in Ascot, following a lengthy investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Zamira Hajiyeva, whose husband Jahangir is currently serving a 16-year sentence in an Azerbaijani prison for embezzlement and fraud, was the first person in the UK to be handed an unexplained wealth order (UWO) in 2018.
Now, after a six-year investigation by the NCA, which, among other sordid details, revealed Zamira Hajiyeva to have a £1.6m annual spending habit at Harrods, she has agreed to hand over her house on Knightsbridge’s exclusive Walton Street and Mill Ride golf and country club.
The development comes after NCA investigators had identified numerous examples of funds derived from Jahangir’s scandalous time at the International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) being transferred – via a network of accounts and and offshore trusts – into luxury assets.
After lengthy civil recovery proceedings, the High Court ruled that the two properties were purchased as a result of criminal activity and are therefore recoverable.
It has not, however, made any findings as to whether Zamira knew about the origin of the funds used to pay for the home and golf club.
In a statement, the NCA said that “no reasonable explanation was provided… for the source of funds used to purchase either property”. It added that “a significant proportion” could be traced directly to agreements used to “conceal the the theft of IBA monies”.
The ruling is one of the most high profile uses of the unexplained wealth order – also known as the “McMafia law” – whose introduction in 2018 gave authorities powers to look into wealth they believed to be illicit.
The controversial piece of policy has been the subject of increased scrutiny as sanctions against Russia heightened after the onset of the country’s war in Ukraine, with some investigators dubbing them ineffective and “toothless“.
But the ruling around Zamira Hajiyeva will help to dispel some of the criticism around the order’s efficacy.
Simon Armstrong, deputy director of NCA Legal, said: “The NCA’s investigation was followed by complex and lengthy litigation, which saw NCA lawyers address numerous challenges and use a range of legal powers introduced by the Criminal Finances Act 2017 to successfully recover assets worth millions of pounds.
“This fantastic result demonstrates how the NCA will deploy all the powers available to identify, pursue and recover the proceeds of crime.”