The source of the money used to buy much of this real estate is hidden in paperwork that may never become public. Though the companies did not declare what they were doing beyond vague statements like “opening an account” or “trading in Azerbaijan and Europe,” one purpose is clear: Many of them held vast amounts of property across the British capital and beyond. His daughter Arzu, who studied psychology in London, had just turned 19 when she acquired her own. His son, Heydar, acquired his first offshore company while he was still in grade school. He is now well into his fourth term, the head of an increasingly autocratic regime built on the jailing of journalists, lawyers, and activists, fraudulent elections, and massive corruption. The confidential documents also feature a global cast of fugitives, convicts, celebrities, football stars and government officials.Ī number of the companies were incorporated during the first term of Ilham Aliyev’s presidency, which began in 2003. Media partners from around the world collaborated for months to analyze the data and reveal the stories of the super-rich and the powerful - including more than 30 world leaders - who appear in it. The Pandora Papers is an investigation into millions of records leaked from 14 offshore service providers - the law firms that help anyone looking for secrecy establish secretive companies in far-flung jurisdictions. Their owners and directorships were also frequently shuffled among the same small group of people. The companies appear to be managed as a closely knit system: Again and again, the leaked records show, groups of them filed paperwork or changed directors on the very same day. In total, OCCRP found 84 previously unknown offshore companies, registered in the British Virgin Islands, that the Aliyevs and their associates have owned since 2006. Their ownership of this property empire has been systematically hidden for years behind offshore companies with generic names like Sheldrake Six and Fliptag Investments.īut thanks to the Pandora Papers, a new leak of offshore documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and shared with OCCRP and other media outlets, reporters have been able to pierce the veil of secrecy that surrounds these companies. When these developments are sold, the tens of millions of pounds that change hands sometimes make national news.īut these impressive buildings in the British capital have one thing in common that no admiring passerby - or even a savvy local real-estate reporter - would ever know: They are or have been owned by some of the people closest to Azerbaijan’s dictatorial president Ilham Aliyev.Īliyev’s two daughters, his son, his father-in-law, and two of the family’s close business associates have held, at their peak, a staggering £429 million ($694 million) in London real estate - including prominent historical buildings, commercial developments, and luxury apartments in prestigious neighborhoods.Īzerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev flanked by his wife Mehriban, his daughter Arzu and Leyla, and his son Heydar. Residential developments with names like “The Knightsbridge” and “Thornwood Gardens” have sprung up just steps from Harrods department store and world-famous Hyde Park. Visitors and locals alike have enjoyed cutting-edge “molecular gastronomy” at the Hibiscus restaurant, shopped on charming Sicilian Avenue, or stopped for a Guinness at the gothic-style, 19th-century Bloomsbury Tavern. And a development boom over the last few decades has only expanded the range of attractions. But this fortune dwarfs their previously known holdings in the United Kingdom - and the newly obtained records shed light on the complex offshore mechanisms that allow it to remain a secret.įor centuries, London has been one of the world’s top destinations for shopping, dining, and good living. It has been reported that the Aliyevs own millions in property abroad.Leaked documents from the Pandora Papers reveal how these properties were held by an interconnected network of 84 offshore companies.Three children and two close associates of Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev used secretive offshore companies to acquire luxurious penthouses, commercial office space, and even an old tavern in the heart of London.
0 kommentar(er)
