The Iranian Embassy in India has rejected reports claiming Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei owns two apartments in London as “completely baseless”.
Several UK media outlets had reported on Mojtaba's alleged properties in London, which they said were located in Palace Green and overlooked the Israeli Embassy there.
Dismissing the reports, the Iranian Embassy said Mojtaba owns no property “outside Iran or inside the country”, while asserting that he lives a simple lifestyle.
“Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, like his esteemed father, owns no property, neither outside Iran nor inside the country. The Iranian people are well aware of his simple and non-ostentatious lifestyle,” India Today reported citing a statement from the Iranian Embassy.
The embassy further added that such reports create “a false image” of the Supreme Leader's “his life and character.” “Even now, the Iranian people, because of his simple way of life and the love and affection they have for him, have been taking to the streets for 190 consecutive nights in support of him,” the embassy said.
What did the UK reports say?
According to reports by media outlets, including The Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Telegraph UK, Mojtaba owns two luxury apartments worth almost £36m overlooking the Israeli embassy in London, which have now been put up for sale. The Supreme Leaders owns the properties – which are sixth and seventh floor apartments – in Kensington, west London, Daily Mail reported.
{{/usCountry}}According to reports by media outlets, including The Sunday Times, Daily Mail and The Telegraph UK, Mojtaba owns two luxury apartments worth almost £36m overlooking the Israeli embassy in London, which have now been put up for sale. The Supreme Leaders owns the properties – which are sixth and seventh floor apartments – in Kensington, west London, Daily Mail reported.
{{/usCountry}}Mojtaba has allegedly owned these apartments since 2014, but its ownership link was investigated into by Bloomberg news channel. The year-long investigation by Bloomberg had reportedly revealed that the Iran leader also owns 11 mansions in Hampstead, North London, through a front man and a shell company registered in the Isle of Man.
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Luxury penthouses registered in name of Mojtaba's ‘key financier’: Report
According to a report by The Telegraph UK, the two luxury penthouses are registered to one Ali Ansari, an Iranian businessman who is reportedly described as Mojtaba's “key financier.” Ansari has been sanctioned by the UK and US for allegedly bankrolling Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The businessman lives in Dubai, and was banned from travelling to Britain, with his assets frozen.
Ansari reportedly bought the properties for nearly £36m in 2014 and 2016, The Telegraph reported citing Land Registry documents accessed by them. The UK government had granted permission for these flats to be put on the market after Ansari defaulted on the mortgages, The Sunday Times reported. The penthouses, in the sixth and seventh floors of 3a Palace Green, have private staff accommodation and a large roof terrace with views over Kensington Palace.