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This photo provided by the National Crime Agency shows a Magic Alhambra bracelet, one of 49 jewels valued at 400,000 pounds seized by the British Crime Agency from auction house Christie's. The agency says that they are related to Zamira Hajiyeva, who is under investigation for the source of his wealth. Zamira Hajiyeva, a woman of Azerbaijani descent, whose anti-corruption laws targeted the US fortune, was released on bail Thursday as she was fighting for extradition to her country originally due to allegations of embezzlement. (National Crime Agency via AP) The Associated Press
By JILL LAWLESS, Associated press
LONDON (AP) – Like many people, Zamira Hajiyeva often goes to a neighborhood store near her home in London to buy a few items, including jewels encrusted with precious stones and a cellar full of fine wines. .
The local Hajiyeva store was the posh Harrods department store, where British investigators claimed to have spent 16 million pounds ($ 21 million) over a decade, using 35 credit cards issued by a bank directed by her husband.
The British National Crime Agency wants to know where Hajiyeva got the money to finance his purchases from Harrods and buy two properties in the UK worth 22 million pounds ($ 29 million).
She is also the subject of a separate investigation in Azerbaijan, her home country, where her husband, former president of the International Bank of Azerbaijan, Jahangir Hajiyev, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2016 for fraud and embezzlement.
On Thursday, Hajiyeva was released on bail by a British judge while she was fighting for extradition to Azerbaijan for allegations of embezzlement.
Hajiyeva, 55, is the first person to be subjected to an unexplained wealth order, a measure introduced by the UK early in the year with the aim of reducing London's status as a safe haven for gains badly acquired. The orders allow the authorities to seize the assets of people suspected of corruption or links with organized crime until the owners report on how they were acquired.
At a court hearing this year, a lawyer from the National Crime Agency gave details of Hajiyeva's expenses at Harrods, including £ 100,000 in Cartier jewelery, £ 150,000 for another trip with products of the luxury brand Boucheron and 1,800 pounds in wine.
Last week, the agency investigating organized and cross-border crime seized 49 jewels valued at £ 400,000 at Christie's auction, where Hajiyeva's daughter had estimated them.
The items in question included a Boucheron necklace in sapphire and rubies valued at up to 120,000 pounds and a Van Cleef & Arpels pearl necklace worth 20,000 pounds, which would have been originally purchased by Hajiyeva's husband in St. Moritz, Switzerland, more than 10 times.
Hajiyeva denies having committed a wrongdoing and is fighting to cancel the order and keep his property.
His lawyers said that the "order of fortune" is part of a process of investigation, not criminal proceedings, and that it does not involve any offense criminal ".
By the way, Hajiyeva was arrested last week by British police at the request of an Azeri for alleged embezzlement. A High Court judge ruled Thursday that there were no "substantial grounds" to deny bail.
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