Zamira Shirali qizi Hajiyeva ( az, Zamirə Şirəli qızı Hacıyeva ; born 18 July 1963) is an Azerbaijani expatriate in the United Kingdom. She is married to
Jahangir Hajiyev
Jahangir Fevzi oglu Hajiyev ( az, Cahangir Fevzi oğlu Hacıyev ; born 26 October 1961) is an Azerbaijani former banker and convicted fraudster. He was the chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan from 2001 until he resigned in March 20 ...
, a former chairman of the
International Bank of Azerbaijan
ABB (from az, Azərbaycan Beynəlxalq Bankı ; formerly known as International Bank of Azerbaijan), the largest bank in Azerbaijan, is an open joint-stock company whose shares are owned by the Azerbaijan state.
History
ABB OJSC was founded on ...
who has since been jailed there for financial crimes. In 2018 she became the first recipient of an
unexplained wealth order
An unexplained wealth order (UWO) is a type of court order issued by a British court to compel the target to reveal the sources of their unexplained wealth. UWOs were introduced by sections 1–2 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and are govern ...
under a new UK anti-corruption law. She was known as "Mrs A" during the legal proceedings before her identity was revealed.
It was disclosed in court that Hajiyeva had spent £16.3 million at London's department store
Harrods, as well as several other multi-million pound purchases – expenditure which the British authorities say is out of keeping with her husband's official salary. On 30 October 2018 she was arrested by British police acting on an extradition request from the Azerbaijani government. Her extradition was blocked on the grounds she will be unable to get a fair trial in her home country because the Azerbaijani judiciary is not independent of the Azerbaijani regime.
Early life and family
Zamira Hajiyeva was born on 18 July 1963. During her first marriage, she had a daughter,
[ Leyla. In 1997 she married ]Jahangir Hajiyev
Jahangir Fevzi oglu Hajiyev ( az, Cahangir Fevzi oğlu Hacıyev ; born 26 October 1961) is an Azerbaijani former banker and convicted fraudster. He was the chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan from 2001 until he resigned in March 20 ...
, later the chairman of the state-owned International Bank of Azerbaijan
ABB (from az, Azərbaycan Beynəlxalq Bankı ; formerly known as International Bank of Azerbaijan), the largest bank in Azerbaijan, is an open joint-stock company whose shares are owned by the Azerbaijan state.
History
ABB OJSC was founded on ...
from 2001 to March 2015. In October 2016, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and misappropriation of public funds. The fraud is as much as £2.2 billion.
The couple have two sons. Leyla was recorded in court documents as having a £15 million share portfolio and is married to Anar Mahmudov, the son of Eldar Mahmudov, Azerbaijan's former Security Minister.
Kidnapping
In February 2005, Hajiyeva was kidnapped as she left the Magic Lady beauty salon in Baku, and held to ransom. Azerbaijan media and the BBC reported that the kidnap was carried out by the police officer Haji Mammadov (Hacı Məmmədov), chief operating officer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
, and his bodyguard who were part of a criminal gang.[Hacı Məmmədov: "Cahangir Hacıyevin arvadını oğurlamağı Zakir Nəsirov sifariş edib".]
Trend News Agency, 9 August 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2018. An operation codenamed Black Belt resulted in Hajiyeva's release in March of that year. Gunshots were fired during the operation and at least one person died. Mammadov claimed during his trial in 2006 that he was acting on the orders of Zakir Nasirov, head of the Interior Ministry's Chief Criminal Investigation Department.[
]
Move to Britain
In 2006, Hajiyeva moved to UK and was later granted permission to live there by the Home Office under an investor visa. She applied for indefinite leave to remain
Indefinite leave to remain (ILR) or permanent residency (PR) is an immigration status granted to a person who does not hold the right of abode in the United Kingdom (UK), but who has been admitted to the UK without any time limit on their stay ...
in 2015; , it was unclear whether she had subsequently acquired British citizenship.[Unmasked! The fraudster's wife who splashed £11.5m on a Knightsbridge mansion.]
11news.ru 11 October 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
In 2016, she was placed under arrest in absentia
is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent".
may also refer to:
* Award in absentia
* Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body
* Election in ab ...
by an Azerbaijan court in connection with her husband's activities.
Unexplained wealth order
Since arriving in the UK, Hajiyeva has spent significant sums of money that the British authorities say are out of keeping with her husband's official salary. In 2018, she became the first person to receive an unexplained wealth order
An unexplained wealth order (UWO) is a type of court order issued by a British court to compel the target to reveal the sources of their unexplained wealth. UWOs were introduced by sections 1–2 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and are govern ...
under a new UK anti-corruption law, and has to provide a "clear account" of the source of her spending, which included:
*Spending just over £16.3 million between 2006 and 2016 at London's upmarket department store Harrods using 54 different credit cards.
*Purchasing a five-bedroom house in Walton Street, Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End.
Toponymy
Knightsbridge is an ancien ...
, close to Harrods, for £11.5 million using a British Virgin Islands
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, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = Territorial song
, song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
, image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
, map_caption =
, mapsize = 290px
, image_map2 = Bri ...
company in 2009.
*Spending £10.5 million on the purchase of the 170-acre Mill Ride Golf and Country Club in Ascot, Berkshire.
*Spending $42 million on a Gulfstream G550
The Gulfstream G550 is a business jet aircraft produced by General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace unit in Savannah, Georgia, US. The certification designation is GV-SP. A version with reduced fuel capacity was marketed as the G500. Gulfstream ...
jet.
Hajiyeva was arrested on 30 October 2018 by British police acting on an extradition request from the Azerbaijani authorities in connection with two charges of embezzlement. She was later released on bail, with a £500,000 bond, an electronic tagging
Electronic tagging is a form of surveillance that uses an electronic device affixed to a person.
In some jurisdictions, an electronic tag fitted above the ankle is used for people as part of their bail or probation conditions. It is also used in ...
device and other conditions. Her extradition was blocked on 26 September 2019 at Westminster Magistrates Court by Emma Arbuthnot
Emma Louise Arbuthnot, Baroness Arbuthnot of Edrom (née Broadbent), known professionally as Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, is a British High Court judge (England and Wales), High Court judge.
Early life and education
Emma Louise Broadbent, daughter o ...
, chief magistrate senior, on the grounds she will be unable to get a fair trial in her home country.[Extradition of Azeri banker’s wife blocked by UK court](_blank)
Financial Times, 26 September 2019
In November 2018, the National Crime Agency
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...
seized 49 items of jewelry worth around £400,000 from Mrs Hajiyeva and in January 2019 they seized a diamond Cartier ring worth almost £1.2 million.
In February 2020, Hajiyeva lost her appeal against the National Crime Agency
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...
's bid to reveal the source of her money.Woman in £16m Harrods spend loses wealth seizure challenge
BBC, 5 February 2020
See also
* List of kidnappings
References
External links
Interpol still not looking for Zamira Hajiyeva
in Azerbaijani
Unexplained wealth orders
from UK Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hajiyeva, Zamira
1963 births
2000s missing person cases
2005 in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijani expatriates in the United Kingdom
Formerly missing people
Kidnapped people
Living people