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Woman who spent £16m in Harrods released on bail | Woman who spent £16m in Harrods released on bail |
(35 minutes later) | |
A woman who spent £16m at Harrods and is subject to the UK's first Unexplained Wealth Order will be freed on bail following her arrest last week. | |
Zamira Hajiyeva, 55, is the wife of an ex-state banker who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for embezzlement in their home country of Azerbaijan. | Zamira Hajiyeva, 55, is the wife of an ex-state banker who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for embezzlement in their home country of Azerbaijan. |
Mrs Hajiyeva was arrested last week by the Metropolitan Police acting on a request from authorities in Azerbaijan. She faces two charges of embezzlement. | |
Her lawyers say she is no "fraudster". | |
Mrs Hajiyeva, who lives in a £15m house near to the London store, is wanted by the authorities in Azerbaijan for an alleged conspiracy to defraud the Azerbaijani national bank. | |
She was granted bail last Tuesday but prosecutors lodged an appeal, arguing that she posed a flight risk. | |
However at the High Court on Thursday, the judge, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker, granted bail, adding there were no "substantial grounds" to deny it. | |
Mrs Hajiyeva's release on bail is subject to a £500,000 bond and arrangements for an electronic tagging device to be installed at her Knightsbridge home. | |
Under her bail conditions, she must stay at home between the hours of 21:00GMT and 06:00 and report daily to Charing Cross police station. | |
She must also not visit any international transfer hub, stay within the M25, or apply for travel documents. | |
Mrs Hajiyeva is subject to two UWOs by the National Crime Agency - meaning she must explain the origin of her fortune. |