Transparency International UK welcomes the announcement that the NCA have secured the forfeiture of millions of pounds of property assets connected to the former central banker of Azerbaijan, Jahangir Hajiyev.

The forfeiture of the assets, which include a house in Knightsbridge worth approximately £14 million and a golf club in Ascot, comes following a National Crime Agency (NCA) civil recovery investigation into the acquisition of the properties.

The NCA believes the assets were obtained as a direct result of large-scale fraud and embezzlement, false accounting and money laundering in Azerbaijan.

María Fernanda Cruz-Chaves, Senior Analyst, Transparency International UK said:

“We welcome today’s news that, after a lengthy case, the NCA has secured the forfeiture of a substantial asset portfolio linked to Jahangir Hajiyev.

“Ending the UK’s role as a safe haven for suspicious wealth means seeking accountability through our court system and seizing ill-gotten gains.

“The UK should now use these funds, which are likely the proceeds of corruption, for the benefit of the Azerbaijani people.

“The challenge for UK officials is to ensure that this is done openly and efficiently without these funds again being lost again to criminality.”

In 2018, the NCA applied for unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) in relation to the two UK properties, as well as interim freezing orders to ensure that these properties could not be sold, transferred or dissipated. The UWOs were the first ever granted in the UK.

In March 2021, the Agency applied for a property freezing order over the two properties. On Thursday 1 August, the order was granted, resulting in the forfeiture of 70% of the value of both.

Steve Goodrich, Head of Research and Investigations, Transparency International UK said:

“While the UK has a patchy record with deploying UWOs, today’s announcement shows the important role they can play in the crackdown on dirty money entering our economy.

“It is incumbent on law enforcement to use all appropriate tools at their disposal to end impunity for the corrupt and their enablers.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

This is the third major civil recovery investigation by the UK authorities into funds connected to the Azerbaijani Laundromat, a multi-billion-pound money laundering scheme first report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project in 2017 (OCCRP).

In 2021, the NCA secured a settlement agreement with Suleyman Javadov to forfeit £4 million they suspected to be the proceeds of crime. Suleyman’s wife, Izzat Javadova, is cousin to Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev. The couple claimed they were unaware the forfeited money had passed through the Azerbaijani Laundromat before entering their accounts.

In 2022, the NCA secured forfeiture of £5.6 million from accounts connected to Javanshir Feyziyev, an independent MP in Azerbaijan.

In 2024, a High Court upheld freezing orders against £50 million of UK property bought by Javanshir Feyziyev with what the NCA suspect are the proceeds of crime.

Mr Feyziyev and his wife strongly deny any wrongdoing, and claim these properties were bought with legitimate profits generated from his business in the tobacco, pharmaceutical and hotel industries. The NCA investigation into these properties is yet to come to court.