Iranian Leader's Son Holds £100M London Property Empire Through Sanctioned Oligarch
The son of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been revealed to own a substantial portfolio of luxury properties in London valued at more than £100 million, according to investigative reports. Mojtaba Khamenei, aged 56 and widely considered a potential successor to his father, is said to control eleven mansions on The Bishops Avenue in Hampstead, north London – an exclusive thoroughfare famously known as 'Billionaires' Row'.
Complex Network of Shell Companies
Mr Khamenei, the Ayatollah's second son, reportedly holds these valuable assets through a sophisticated network of shell companies designed to obscure ownership. One such entity, Birch Ventures Limited, is registered in the Isle of Man, a jurisdiction renowned as a tax haven. Although the company's official records do not list Mr Khamenei as a director or owner, they identify banker Ali Ansari as the beneficial owner.
Ali Ansari has been described as an Iranian oligarch with close connections to the Khamenei family and was sanctioned by the UK Treasury in October. He stands accused of providing financial support to the Ayatollah's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), an organisation allegedly responsible for the majority of killings during recent nationwide anti-regime protests that resulted in up to 70,000 Iranian deaths.
Property Acquisition and Current Valuation
Land Registry documents indicate that all eleven properties on The Bishops Avenue were purchased collectively in 2013 for £73 million. Their current market value is now believed to exceed £100 million, representing significant capital appreciation. Bloomberg news channel reports having spoken to sources and reviewed documents that directly link these London properties to Mojtaba Khamenei, who has apparently built a global property empire through his association with Mr Ansari.
Mr Ansari previously operated Ayandeh Bank, which collapsed last year, exacerbating Iran's ongoing economic difficulties. Notably, the Treasury's sanction announcement did not explicitly reference any connection between Mr Khamenei and Mr Ansari, though the property links suggest a substantial financial relationship.
Regional Tensions and Explosions in Iran
This revelation emerges against a backdrop of heightened tensions in Iran, where five people were killed yesterday in a series of explosions across the country. Video footage showed smoke billowing from a building in Bandar Abbas, a southern port city where a four-year-old girl died and fourteen others were injured. Fire officials attributed this blast to a gas explosion.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency dismissed social media reports suggesting the commander of the regime's naval forces had been targeted in the Bandar Abbas incident as 'completely false'. Meanwhile, in Ahvaz near the Iraqi border, four members of the same family perished in another explosion that authorities similarly blamed on a gas leak. Four additional explosions were reported elsewhere in Iran.
These events follow US President Donald Trump's threats of airstrikes against the Ayatollah over protester deaths. Two Israeli officials have stated their country was not involved in the blasts, while the Pentagon declined to comment when approached last night.
Bandar Abbas, home to Iran's most important container port, is strategically located on the Strait of Hormuz – a vital waterway between Iran and Oman that handles approximately one-fifth of the world's seaborne oil. The city also hosts the naval headquarters of the IRGC, further highlighting its significance in regional security dynamics.
