Court documents
- Westminster Magistrates’ Court forfeiture judgment (31.01.2022)
- Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruling on anonymity (09.05.2022)
- Divisional Court judgment dismissing application for judicial review (17.03.2023)
When news of the industrial-scale money laundering operation dubbed the “Azerbaijani Laundromat” first broke in September 2017, the UK’s role as a safe haven for dirty money was once again exposed. Leaked bank records from Den Danske bank in Estonia showed that between 2012 and 2014, roughly US$2.9 billion passed through UK-registered shell companies in an elaborate scheme that served to benefit Azerbaijan’s ruling elite. Since then, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has taken steps to recover the vast amounts of dirty money that washed onto UK shores through the Azerbaijani Laundromat.
On 31 January 2022, the Westminster Magistrates Court granted civil forfeiture orders in relation to £5.63 million held across several UK bank accounts by relatives of Javanshir Feyziyev, a sitting member of Azerbaijan’s Parliament. Although the Azeri lawmaker was not himself a party to the forfeiture proceedings, he is central to the case as the seized funds largely came from bank accounts under his control. The total figure seized covers £4.39 million from his wife, Parvana Feyziyeva, £1 million from his son, Orkhan Javanshir, and £240,000 from his nephew, Elman Javanshir.
A large portion of the funds initially frozen by the NCA had been “gifted” by Javanshir Feyziyev to his wife and son so that they could apply for a “golden visa” in the UK. In 2013, Rathbones helped Parvana Feyziyev and Orkhan Javanshir set up investment portfolios of £4 million for purposes of their Tier 1 investor visa applications. It was well known to Rathbones that Javanshir Feyziyev had provided these funds, and enhanced due diligence was undertaken as a result of their status as Politically Exposed Persons. A compliance summary from Rathbones referred to what the court described as “very serious” allegations involving Feyziyev, but the court made no findings in this regard because these negative press reports were unconfirmed and none of the parties referenced them during the forfeiture proceedings.
The NCA subsequently traced these funds through the complex corporate structures of the Azerbaijani Laundromat. A central component of the Laundromat was the UK-registered Avromed Company LLP, which the court found was a primary beneficiary of payments from other UK-registered entities called Hilux LLP and Polux LLP. Shortly before its Expobank account in Latvia was closed in 2016, Avromed Company LLP made significant payments to the Seychelles-incorporated Avromed Company, which in turn made payments into Javanshir Feyziyev’s own personal account at ABLV bank in Latvia. From this personal account, funds were disbursed, both directly and indirectly, to UK bank accounts held by Orkhan Javanshir, Parvana Feyziyeva and Elman Javanshir.
Shortly before the forfeiture proceedings began in November 2021, the court granted an anonymity order in favour of an individual who has been identified as both a founding shareholder of Avromed Company LLC and the beneficial owner of the Seychelles-incorporated entity bearing the same name which was integral to the Azerbaijani Laundromat. This person, referred to in the proceedings as “MNL”, emerged as an important figure in the evidence presented by the NCA in support of their forfeiture application.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (“BBC”) and Martin Bentham, a journalist with the Evening Standard, successfully applied for this anonymity order to be lifted. Spotlight on Corruption and Transparency International UK wrote a joint letter in support of this application, arguing for the importance of open justice in this case. MNL persisted with several rounds of legal challenges in an attempt to retain anonymity, but the Divisional Court roundly dismissed his claim in March 2023.
In May 2023, “MNL” could be named for the first time as Javad Marandi – an international businessman, property tycoon, philanthropist and major donor to the Conservative Party.
While no findings of wrongdoing have been made against Mr Marandi and this case was a civil – not a criminal – case, brought against others, his alleged involvement with key persons and companies at the heart of the Laundromat raises a number of unanswered questions with significant public interest. In particular, this and other cases raise whether more robust checks on political donations are appropriate and whether much greater transparency is needed about donors’ access to and potential influence over senior figures in political parties, particularly those in government.
