Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Former Kazakh president's grandson wins 'McMafia' case in London High Court

London's High Court removed anti-graft orders against the grandson of the former president of Kazakhstan on Wednesday (8), 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 which 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."

The case involved only the second time that Britain has used UWOs since they were introduced in 2018 in an attempt to stem the billions of dollars of dirty money flowing through the country each year.

The NCA wanted Aliyev to explain the source of funds used to buy the mansion in north London where he lived with his wife and children which has an underground swimming pool, a cinema, saying it and two other properties were worth some £80 million.

It had argued the money used to buy the house and the two other properties was linked to Rakhat Aliyev - Nurali Aliyev's father and the former president's son-in-law - who was found hanged in an Austrian jail in 2015 after being charged with the murder of two bankers in 2007.

Lawyers for two offshore companies that own the properties said the case was "tissue paper thin" and that the funding had come from Aliyev's mother, Dariga Nazarbayeva, who was economically independent.

A spokesman for Dariga Nazarbayeva said that Wednesday's judgement "entirely vindicated" her.

"It is frustrating and disappointing that she has had to take this action to fight these draconian proceedings and clear her name," the spokesman said.

The NCA said it would appeal against the ruling.

"Unexplained Wealth Orders are new legislation and we always expected there would be significant legal challenge over their use," said Graeme Biggar, the NCA’s Director General of the National Economic Crime Centre.

"These hearings will establish the case law on which future judgments will be based, so it is vital that we get this right."

Britain's first UWOs were issued against a Knightsbridge house and a golf course belonging to Jahangir Hajiyeva, jailed in Azerbaijan for embezzlement from the state bank, and his wife, Zamira, who spent £16.3 million in the London department store Harrods.

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less