Ali Ansari, an Iranian businessman facing sanctions in the UK for financing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has amassed hundreds of millions of euros in a property portfolio across Europe, ranging from a golf resort in Mallorca to an Austrian ski hotel, according to a Financial Times report.
The UK sanctioned Ayandeh for funding “hostile activity,” branding him a “corrupt Iranian banker and businessman” and freezing his portfolio worth more than 150 million pounds, according to the report.
Financial Times identified his offshore companies in Luxembourg, St Kitts, Nevis, Austria, Germany, and Spain, all of which are worth 400 million euros. Among the properties are the Steigenberger Golf and Spa Resort in Camp de Mar, Mallorca, a 164-room luxury hotel, the Schlosshotel Kitzbühel, a luxury ski resort in the Austrian Alps, and two hotels in Germany: the Hilton Frankfurt City Center and the Hilton Frankfurt Gravenbruch.
Most properties, according to The Times, are owned through shell companies, such as Tidalwave Holdings in Luxembourg.
Ansari’s luxury homes
Ansari also purchased a 73 million pound portfolio of 12 mansions on London’s The Bishops Avenue, nicknamed “Billionaire’s Row,” and purchased another property on that same street for 33.7 million pounds.
He also owns two luxury apartments with servants’ quarters close to Kensington Palace, purchased for 36 million pounds in 2014 and 2016, and an 8.1-million-pound apartment in Buxmead, a luxury gated residence.
The Iranian tycoon is not under sanction in the European Union, according to The Times. The report claims that this is yet another example of how Iranian businessmen close to the regime have developed lucrative assets despite efforts from the West to shut them down.
Ansari’s family founded Ayandeh Bank, whose collapse was caused by Iran’s economic downfall last year, which has culminated in violent protests this month. Ayandeh, which had been accused for years of funneling money into “speculative ventures and related parties,” was folded into a publicly-owned bank to protect its depositors.
Ansari had argued against these speculations, asserting that the bank was impeded by outside actors. “The truth will eventually come out,” he claimed.
Ansari denies claims
Ansari’s lawyer, Roger Gherson, has fought against the UK’s sanctions, arguing that his client “strongly denies he has ever had any financial relationship with the IRGC in Iran,” cited the report.
Gherson claimed that Ansari intends to challenge the UK’s decision to impose sanctions on him.