Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

NCA joins UK court battle to name couple in £14m ‘laundromat’ case

NCA joins UK court battle to name couple in £14m ‘laundromat’ case

The National Crime Agency has joined the Evening Standard’s battle to name a London couple accused in a secret justice case of bringing £14 million of corrupt money from the “Azerbaijan laundromat” into the capital.
The law enforcement agency has also drafted in the government’s terrorism watchdog, Jonathan Hall QC, to lead its case against the pair in a further sign of its commitment to end the secrecy and seize their allegedly dirty money.

The new developments came at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates to prepare for forfeiture proceedings later this year at which the NCA will seek to take possession of around £6.5 million in ten bank accounts held by one or other of the couple.

The Evening Standard has been fighting for nearly two years to name the pair, who own several multi-million pound properties in London, after discovering that their savings, which include accounts at the Queen’s bank Coutts, had been frozen by law enforcers.

The NCA had remained officially neutral during a series of earlier hearings at which this newspaper’s applications to name the couple were blocked by court orders, despite a judge’s admission that the Standard has an “important story to tell, in the public interest” and “is concerned about the flow of dirty money into the UK”.

But the NCA has now changed its stance in a skeleton argument submitted to Westminster Magistrates by Mr Hall, one of the country’s leading QCs in “dirty money” cases and also the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation.

In it, Mr Hall calls for the removal of secrecy – which means the couple can only be referred to X and Y – arguing that the pair “have not come close to justifying the need for anonymity.”

“In contrast to its position of neutrality at earlier stages of the proceedings … the NCA now argues positively that the final hearing should be in open court and that there should be no restrictions on identification,” he states.

Mr Hall points out that “Mrs Y has been the director of a UK limited company, with publicly accessible records including financial statements” and that the couple have “also used limited companies in relation to their business affairs in Azerbaijan” and given their names and personal signatures on commercial documents.”

He adds that “Mrs Y also appears to have provided her name, passport number and personal UK bank details” on an invoice.

“This is not a case where there is any particular confidentiality that they have sought in relation to their business and financial affairs,” he concludes in the legal document.

Mr Hall also rejects earlier arguments by the couple’s lawyers that the forthcoming forfeiture hearing should be conducted in private.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
×