Wife of jailed banker blew £16m in Harrods during spending spree
● Azerbaijani hit with UK’S first unexplained wealth order
Luxury jewellery, designer fashion and perfume were on the shopping list of the woman hit with the UK’S first unexplained wealth order as she spent £16 million in Harrods.
Zamira Hajiyeva, 55, blew £600,000 in a single day during a decade-long spending spree as she splashed out on some of the world’s most expensive brands.
She spent £5.75 mat jewellers Boucheron and Car tier and paid six-figure sums shopping for fashion brands including Dennis Basso, Celine, Fendi and Christian Dior.
Mrs Hajiyeva, the wife of jailed Aze rb aija ni banker Jahangir Hajiyev, was targeted by the National Crime Agency (NCA) when so-called Mcmafia anti-corruption laws came into force last year.
UK authorities want to know how the couple could afford to buy an £11.5m Knightsbridge house and a £10.5m golf club in Ascot, Berkshire.
Two unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) have been granted against mother- ofthree Mrs Hajiyeva. A judge found she spent more than £16 min the luxury department store between September 2006 and June 2016.
The scale of her spending can be laid bare for the first time after a tranche of High Court documents was released.
Transactions linked to three loyalty cards and 35 credit cards issued by her husband’s bank are detailed in the 95 pages.
They reveal her spending included £4 mat Boucher on, £1.75 mat Cartier, and £1 min the Harrods toy department, including a single purchase of £790,000.
A payment of £99,000 went through the till at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo – Disney’s then exclusive boutique at Harrods. Other spending included £30,000 in one payment to gourmet Belgian chocolate chain Godiva.
The documents list spending by department and do not contain details of individual items bought, so it is possible goods from one area of the store were paid for in another.
Other documents reveal that Mrs Hajiyeva made 38 visits to a Harrods safe deposit box between January 2011 and April 2016 in which she could not keep “articles which are unlawful or which in Harrods’ reasonable opinion might damage the reputation of Harrods”.
Her husband was the chairman of state-controlled International Bank of Azerbaijan from 2001 until 2015 and was later sentenced to 15 years for fraud and embezzlement.
Mrs Hajiyeva, who was granted in definite leave to remain in the UK in 2015, is also facing extradition to Azerbaijan over allegations of embezzlement.
Her application to the Home Office for a visa meant for wealthy investors in cluded evidence of a Swiss bank account with deposited funds “in excess of £1m”, while just over £1m was invested in UK government bonds.