An Iranian property tycoon holding a Cypriot passport has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom for allegedly acting as a financier for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a force that has been linked to the deaths of thousands of protesters in Iran.
Ali Ansari, an Iranian businessman with three passports, including one from Cyprus and another from Saint Kitts and Nevis, reportedly funnelled hundreds of millions of euros into an extensive European property portfolio. The UK government froze his London assets following the collapse of the Ayandeh bank last month, with which his family is connected.
The Financial Times (FT) reports that Ansari controlled a network of offshore companies to acquire luxury hotels and commercial businesses across continental Europe. Despite the UK’s move to label him a “corrupt Iranian banker,” Ansari is not currently on the European Union’s sanctions list.
The tycoon’s reported holdings include the 164-room Steigenberger Hotel & Resort Camp de Mar in Mallorca, Spain, and a stake in the Schlosshotel Kitzbühel luxury ski resort in the Austrian Alps. In Germany, he is linked to the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre, the Hilton Frankfurt Gravenbruch, and the Bero Oberhausen shopping centre.
The UK indictment characterises Ansari as a financier of the IRGC. His case has highlighted concerns over how figures close to the Iranian regime acquire Western assets despite international efforts to exclude them from the global economy.
In a statement to the FT, Ansari’s lawyer denied the allegations.
“Our client categorically denies that he has ever had any financial relationship with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran,” the lawyer said.
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