Javad Marandi, a prominent businessman and major donor to the Conservative Party, has been revealed as having connections to a global money laundering
investigation. Marandi, who holds an OBE for his business and philanthropic endeavors, was identified after losing a legal battle to maintain anonymity against the BBC.
It is important to note that Mr. Marandi vehemently denies any wrongdoing and is not subject to criminal sanctions. The court's judgment in this case marks a significant milestone for press freedom, particularly amidst the increasing prevalence of privacy laws in the legal system.
The investigation conducted by the National Crime Agency (NCA) found that some of Marandi's overseas interests were involved in an elaborate money-laundering scheme linked to one of Azerbaijan's wealthiest oligarchs. In January 2022, the NCA secured a court ruling allowing the seizure of £5.6 million ($7 million) from the London-based family of Javanshir Feyziyev, a member of Azerbaijan's parliament. The judge deemed the funds to be part of a significant money-laundering operation.
The Feyziyev family has denied these allegations, and at the beginning of the hearing in October 2021, Marandi was granted anonymity by the court. However, High Court judges have now ruled that Marandi can be identified as a person of significance in the NCA's case.
Marandi, aged 55, was born in Iran and raised in London, where he currently resides. His ties to the Conservative Party have emerged through reports of his substantial donations. Electoral Commission records show that between 2014 and 2020, he contributed £756,300 to the party.
In February 2022, the Sunday Times reported that Marandi was part of a group of major donors who had privileged access to senior party members, including then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Described in court as a highly successful international businessman, Marandi has a diverse portfolio of business interests in the UK and abroad. He owns The Conran Shop, an iconic design brand, holds a stake in luxury handbag firm Anya Hindmarch Ltd, and is associated with an exclusive private members' club and hotel in Oxfordshire. Together with his wife, he heads the Marandi Foundation, which supports the Prince and Princess of Wales's charity.
Marandi's UK businesses and affiliated organizations are not implicated in the NCA's investigation, which focuses on previous events.
The investigation began in 2017 after investigative journalists exposed the "Azerbaijani Laundromat," a vast money-laundering scheme involving $2.9 billion (£2.3 billion) of illicit funds from Azerbaijan. The scheme aimed to benefit members of the country's elite while also being used for bribing European politicians. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) highlighted the significant impact of the Laundromat on Azerbaijan, the European Union, the United States, and other parts of the world.
Following the OCCRP's revelations, the NCA initiated an inquiry into the financial affairs of the Feyziyev family in the UK, leading to the application to seize some of their assets in 2021. During this process, the connection between Javad Marandi and the money laundering activities was disclosed in court.
The NCA's case documents reveal that the suspect funds, which ultimately ended up in the Feyziyev family's London accounts, originated from a company in Baku, Azerbaijan, called Baktelekom. This seemingly state-owned firm shared a near-identical name with an authentic entity. Photo by Harry Mitchell, photographer, Wikimedia commons.