Ex-Kazakh president’s family wins British court battle over London mansion
- National Crime Agency sought anti-graft orders against grandson of Nursultan Nazarbayev to force him to explain where he got money to buy US$104 million mansion
- The High Court ruled in favour of Nurali Aliyev and discharged the orders against the companies which owned the properties
London’s High Court removed anti-graft orders against the grandson of the former president of Kazakhstan on Wednesday, dealing a blow to powers that British crime fighters use to target dirty money.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) had sought Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) against the companies that owned a London mansion in which Nurali Aliyev lived, as well as two other properties, to try to force them to explain where the money to buy the properties had come from.
However, On Wednesday, the High Court ruled in favour of Aliyev over the house connected to him and discharged the orders against the companies which owned the three properties.
“The court’s powerful judgment demonstrates the NCA obtained the orders on an inaccurate basis as part of a flawed investigation which was entirely without merit,” Aliyev, the grandson of former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, said in statement.
“The NCA deliberately ignored the relevant information I voluntarily provided and pursued a groundless and vicious legal action, including making shocking slurs against me, my family and my country.”
