People close to Iran's former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are said to have purchased luxury properties in London, according to recent reports of property investments worth tens of millions of pounds.
Properties in the name of Mojtaba Khamenei, including those on The Bishops Avenue/PHOTO:X
Western intelligence investigations and assessments suggest that several members or close associates of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) own properties in exclusive neighborhoods of the British capital.
Areas mentioned include Hampstead, St John's Wood and Kensington, residential areas known for luxury homes, private schools and high value properties. The purchases would have been made through offshore companies and intermediaries.
Some of the properties are located on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, a street often nicknamed “Billionaire Street” known for its extremely expensive villas.
Properties worth tens of millions of pounds
One of the names associated with these transactions is Ali Aliakbar Ansari, described by the British government last year as a corrupt banker and sanctioned for alleged links to hostile IRGC activities.
According to public information, Ansari allegedly bought eleven properties on The Bishops Avenue in 2013 for around £73m. The purchases were allegedly made through a company called Birch Ventures Limited, registered in the Isle of Man, an offshore jurisdiction.
Since then, some of these properties have reportedly been left derelict.
The following year, Ansari allegedly bought another property for £33.7m, and in 2017 he purchased an apartment in a secure residential complex in the area for £8.1m.
The Bishops Avenue, a street once frequented by personalities such as Princess Diana, has in recent years become known for the large number of unoccupied or dilapidated villas.
Possible ties to the supreme leader's family
According to a Western intelligence assessment, Mojtaba Khamenei — the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and considered by some analysts as a possible successor to the leadership of Iran — was involved in these transactions.
The assessment suggests that Ansari may have managed certain properties on behalf of Mojtaba Khamenei, including those on The Bishops Avenue.
The acquisitions were not limited to Hampstead, however. Two luxury apartments are also said to have been bought in a residential building a short distance from Kensington Palace.
Investments encouraged in the past by the real estate market
Some of these investments took place at a time when relations between Iran and the West appeared to be easing. In 2016, sanctions against Iran were eased after the signing of the international nuclear deal.
At the time, some property industry players were anticipating an influx of wealthy Iranian buyers to London.
Becky Fatemi, a representative of the luxury real estate agency Rokstone, said at the time that the nuclear deal could bring “a significant flow of wealthy Iranian families” interested in property in the British capital and surrounding areas.
Other links in the real estate sector
Real estate sources claim that the St John's Wood neighborhood has also become popular with some Iranian buyers. The area is near the School of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and real estate agencies have sometimes promoted this proximity as an advantage to potential clients.
At the same time, information also emerged about Reza Samizadeh, former executive director of Iran Mall — a major shopping center in Tehran financed by Ayandeh Bank, associated with Ansari.
Samizadeh allegedly lived in a property managed by the Crown Estate and was, in 2016, a director of IMCC Europe Limited, a firm with links to people associated with Ansari. The company's address was a luxury apartment in Kensington, close to Kensington Gardens.
Properties difficult to identify
Real estate experts say it is difficult to establish the exact extent of Iranian investment in London property, as many purchases are made through complex corporate structures.
Henry Sherwood, founder of The Buying Agents, says such structures can hide the real identity of the owners.
He says the situation could become similar to that which arose after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when many properties owned by Russian oligarchs in London were abandoned or fell into disrepair due to sanctions.
“You never really know the scale of the properties, because many are bought through complicated structures,” says Sherwood. “But when sanctions come in, there's almost nothing the owners can do about them.”
Some experts estimate that Iranian real estate investments made after the 2016 nuclear deal could exceed a billion pounds.
Ali Ansari has previously denied acting on behalf of Ali Khamenei and said he plans to challenge the sanctions imposed by British authorities.
Representatives for Rokstone and the Crown Estate have been contacted for comment.
