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Unexplained Wealth Order focuses on London mansion Unexplained Wealth Order focuses on London mansion
(about 8 hours later)
A high-security mansion on one of London's most exclusive roads is the target of the UK's latest use of Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs). The BBC has won a challenge to identify a London mansion at the heart of the latest Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO).
The property, owned by companies based in tax havens, has been frozen, meaning it cannot be sold or disposed of, ahead of a court hearing on Tuesday. The property is the family home of one of the members of Kazakhstan's political elite, Nurali Aliyev.
Nurali Aliyev, grandson of Kazakhstan's former so-called president for life, is the occupier of the home, records show. The home on The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead - known as "Billionaires' Row" - is owned by offshore companies.
The property is so big it has an underground pool and a cinema. It is one of three homes worth more than £80m owned for the benefit of Mr Aliyev and his leading Kazakh politician mother, Dariga Nazarbayeva.
The fate of the property, which cannot be identified for legal reasons, and two others linked to Mr Aliyev's family will be decided in a major court battle that begins at the High Court on Tuesday. The National Crime Agency suspects all three of the mega properties in London were bought with riches embezzled by Mr Aliyev's notorious and now dead father.
During the hearing, lawyers for the companies that own the properties will seek to have a National Crime Agency investigation halted. Rakhat Aliyev once styled himself "Godfather-in-law" and was accused of crimes including murder, before his own death in prison.
UWOs are one of the UK's newest tools in the fight against suspected criminal money invested in property. Mr Aliyev and Dr Nazarbayeva have denied all wrongdoing - saying they can prove independent and legitimate wealth for their UK property investments.
National Crime Agency investigators can use the measure to require owners to disclose how they managed to buy a luxury home. If they do not agree with the explanation, they can then ask the courts to confiscate it. What are Unexplained Wealth Orders?
The property is one of three worth more than £80m in total that has been subject to UWOs since last May. Unexplained Wealth Orders are one of the UK's newest tools in the fight against suspected criminal money invested in property.
An investigation by BBC News, Finance Uncovered and Transparency International identified all three properties in a trail of publicly-obtainable documents. National Crime Agency investigators can use UWOs to require owners to disclose how they managed to buy a luxury home.
Those show that the High Court ordered the property to be frozen to prevent it being sold by the two companies that own it: Manrick Private Foundation, incorporated in Curacao, and Alderton Investments Ltd, incorporated in Anguilla. If they do not agree with the explanation, they can then ask the courts to confiscate it.
The companies have owned the mansion since 2014. A related publicly accessible mortgage document shows that the occupiers of the property are Nurali and Aida Aliyev. What are the three properties?
Mr Aliyev describes himself on his LinkedIn account as a tech entrepreneur and investor from Kazakhstan. The properties were identified in an investigation by BBC News, Finance Uncovered and Transparency International into the ownership of London property by members of Kazakhstan's political elite.
His grandfather, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was president of the oil- and gas-rich nation for three decades, until he stood down last year. In 2010, he was granted a special status which made him permanent leader if he wanted to remain in power - and critics say his administration was marred by corruption and human rights abuses. Each of the homes is owned by companies incorporated in three tax havens - Panama, Anguilla and Curacao in the Caribbean.
Mr Aliyev's mother, Dariga Nazarbayeva, is the former president's daughter and current chair of Kazakhstan's senate. The properties' fate will be decided in a major court battle that began at the High Court on Tuesday.
His father, Rakhat, was a senior member of the Nazarbayev government who became an opponent of the president. Who are the Aliyev family?
Mr Aliyev describes himself as a tech entrepreneur and investor. His grandfather, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was president of the oil and gas-rich nation for three decades.
Former president Nazarbayev's daughter, Dr Dariga Nazarbayeva, married Rakhat Aliyev.
The opera-singing multi-lingual former business woman is now the chair of Kazakhstan's senate - and is tipped to possibly become president of Kazakhstan in the future.
Rakhat Aliyev, her ex-husband, was once a senior figure in the government.
However, he fell out with the president, split from his wife and was accused of major crimes - driving him into de facto exile.
In 2015 Rakhat Aliyev was found dead in an Austrian prison cell. He had apparently killed himself while awaiting trial for the alleged murder of two bankers in Kazakhstan.In 2015 Rakhat Aliyev was found dead in an Austrian prison cell. He had apparently killed himself while awaiting trial for the alleged murder of two bankers in Kazakhstan.
Daniel Bruce of Transparency International UK, said: "It is encouraging to see these powers being used. Court papers show that the National Crime Agency suspects that Rakhat Aliyev and members of his family were involved in serious crime in Kazakhstan.
"This landmark case should give government confidence that unexplained wealth orders are making a real difference in building Britain's reputation as a safe and clean place to do business." "I suspect that Rakhat Aliyev has been involved in... bribery, corruption, blackmail, conspiracy to defraud, forgery and money laundering," says a statement from an investigator.
The BBC has contacted lawyers for the owners of the properties and Mr and Mrs Aliyev. They have not commented publicly ahead of Tuesday's hearing. "I also believe that members of his family - including Nurali Aliyev - have been involved in money laundering."
The NCA says the companies that own the properties in London are part of a pattern of "extreme secrecy" to hide assets.
What does the family say?
In statements on Tuesday morning, the mother and son said they wanted to swiftly clear their names and were frustrated with how the NCA had targeted them. They both say they had no contact with Rakhat after the family split.
Clare Montgomery QC, lawyer for some of the companies that own the properties, told the court that the NCA's case was "tissue thin".
She said Mrs Nazarbayeva had offered clearly to answer the NCA's questions by providing proof of her own independent finances and wealth - and the details of how her acrimonious and public split from her late husband showed she had nothing to do with his criminality.
She accused the NCA of "an absurdly patriarchal view of the world".
Instead, she argued, "there is a woman who is economically active throughout the period who might just have conceivably earned her own money."
The family and lawyers say they gave the NCA detailed evidence of how Dr Nazarbayeva managed her wealth and organised their ownership of homes in a tax efficient manner.
"The NCA has refused to engage with the material that has been provided," Ms Montgomery told the court.
"They insist that the application is made in court, in public, for reasons that do not reflect well on their ability to review the decisions they have made in this case."
The case continues on Wednesday.