Anti-corruption drive: Court challenge to London homes of ruling family

LONDON: Three luxurious UK properties belonging to the family of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev could be seized in an anti-corruption drive, London’s High Court heard Tuesday.

The properties, including a mansion on a London street dubbed “Billionaire’s Row”, are the subject of unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), issued by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) in newly introduced powers.

In total, the properties are thought to be worth around 90 million euros ($100 million).

UWOs — brought into force in January 2018 under so-called “McMafia” laws after a BBC television drama of the same name about organised crime — allows the NCA to seize someone’s assets if they believe the owner is unable to explain the source of their wealth.

It was reported that one of the properties is currently occupied by Nurali Aliyev, grandson of Kazakh ex-president Nazarbayev.

That property, on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, north London, is reportedly a high-security mansion featuring an underground pool and a cinema.

Lawyers for Aliyev and his wife, Aida Aliyeva, argued for the address to be kept private, claiming they were “extremely concerned for the security and privacy of their family and in particular for their children” if it was published.

That application was rejected.

The two other properties subject to UWOs are an apartment in Chelsea, west London, and a house near Highgate Golf Club, north London.

An application for all three UWOs to be discharged is being heard in proceedings expected to last two days.

The High Court heard that Aliyev and his mother, Dariga Nazarbayeva — the current chairwoman of the Kazakhstan senate and daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev — are “the ultimate beneficial owners of (the three) properties subject to unexplained wealth orders”.

Lawyer Clare Montgomery, representing two companies which own the Chelsea apartment in Chelsea and the Highgate property, said the NCA applied for the orders on the basis that the properties were purchased with “the proceeds of Rakhat Aliyev’s crimes”.

Rakhat Aliyev — Nurali Aliyev’s father — was a senior member of the Kazakh government who died in an Austrian prison in 2015 awaiting trial on two charges of murder.

However, Montgomery said the properties are “not associated with Rakhat Aliyev, but with his wife, Dariga Nazarbayeva”.

In a statement, a lawyer for Nurali Aliyev said he had assisted the NCA “and will robustly defend the proceedings”.

A statement from the office of Dariga Nazarbayeva said: “Dr Nazarbayeva is a highly respected and successful international businesswoman and politician with her own means.”