Jonathan Hall K.C. and Leila Gaafar represent the NCA in multi-million pound civil recovery order.
On 5 August 2024, the National Crime Agency announced that a multi-million pound civil recovery order had been granted by the High Court against Zamira Hajiyeva, wife of jailed banker Jahangir Hajiyev. The proceedings against Mrs Hajiyeva began in 2018 with the issue of the first ever Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) in this jurisdiction, and related to two UK properties: a house in Knightsbridge, and a golf club.
Through a detailed asset tracing exercise, the NCA were able to establish that these assets were obtained as a direct result of large-scale fraud and embezzlement, false accounting and money laundering. While the Court has concluded that the properties were purchased as a result of criminal activity and are therefore recoverable, it has not made any finding in relation to Mrs Hajiyeva’s knowledge of or involvement in the purchase of the properties.
Jonathan Hall K.C. and Leila Gaafar were instructed to represent the NCA in these proceedings, along with Tom Rainsbury of Three Verulam Buildings.
For more information, please click here:
The Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/content/bdcc76c4-1436-4794-a4e6-e0a205a86854
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/aug/05/wife-jailed-azeri-
banker-forfeits-house-harrods-ascot-golf-club
The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/05/jailed-bankers-wife-zamira-hajiyeva-forfeit-house-golf-club/
