Wife of corrupt banker loses appeal to keep £22m homes

THE wife of an international banker who spent £16million at Harrods has lost her bid to keep hold of two properties worth £22million.

The woman, called Mrs A, who had three loyalty cards for the Knightsbridge store, was the subject of the first two orders issued under so-called “Mcmafia laws”.

Two Unexplained Wealth Orders were obtained by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in February in relation to the two properties: a £11.5 million home purchased in 2009 by a company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and a London home bought the same year for a similar sum.

Mrs A’s husband was the chairman of a bank in a non-european Economic Area country, in which the state had a controlling stake. Following his resignation in 2015, he was convicted of fraud and embezzlement and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

As a result, the NCA obtained two orders against his assets on the grounds that the funds used to purchase the properties were bought with cash stolen while he was working for a state bank in their home country.

The NCA has the power to seize assets if officials believe the owner is a politically exposed person, or someone with suspected links to organised crime, and they are unable explain the source of their wealth.

Mrs A yesterday lost her appeal at the High Court against the two Unexplained Wealth Orders after Mr Justice Supperstone dismissed her application.

He stated that three separate loyalty cards were issued to her by Harrods, where she spent more than £16million between September 2006 and June 2016, which the court heard was “far in excess” of her husband’s income.