Harrods ring worth £1.2m seized in unexplained wealth case
Written by News on 15/01/2019
Authorities have seized a diamond ring worth £1.2m that an Azerbaijani banker bought in Harrods as part of an investigation into his unexplained wealth.
The Cartier piece, bought by jailed banker Jahangir Hajiyev in 2011, was seized from a high-end jewellers where it had been taken in for repair.
The case involves the UK’s first unexplained wealth order (UWO).
Investigators are now working to establish how the ring was paid for.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said two UWOs were granted against Mr Hajiyev’s wife, Zamira Hajiyeva, with regards to properties worth a total of £22m under so-called McMafia laws.
Under the powers brought in at the beginning of last year, investigators are allowed to look into the source of wealth of those who are deemed politically exposed persons (PEP).
They consist of those from outside the European Economic Area in positions of power, making them liable to bribery or corruption, or those with suspected links to organised crime and who are unable to disclose their source of wealth.
Hajiyev was once the chairman of the state-controlled International Bank of Azerbaijan – from 2001 until 2015 when he resigned and was subsequently jailed for 15 years for fraud and embezzlement.
Authorities are trying to find out how the couple were able to buy their large house in Knightsbridge and a golf club in Berkshire.
The ring will be held for six months while inquiries continue.
Another 49 items of jewellery worth more than £400,000 have already been seized from an auction house in London, where they were being valued for Mrs Hajiyeva’s daughter.
Mrs Hajiyeva is facing extradition to Azerbaijan over embezzlement allegations.
She unsuccessfully attempted to overturn a UWO in October last year. Her lawyers claimed her husband’s conviction was the result of a “show trial” and that his guilt “had been determined by the presidential administration in advance”.
(c) Sky News 2019: Harrods ring worth £1.2m seized in unexplained wealth case
