Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son and successor of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been linked to a substantial portfolio of luxury real estate in London since 2014.
A comprehensive investigation conducted by Bloomberg unveiled the extensive investment activities of the younger Khamenei, despite facing US sanctions in 2019. The disclosed assets include over $130 million in desirable properties across the UK, along with various other assets such as upscale European hotels and well-funded bank accounts in Switzerland and the UAE.
The investigation traced Khamenei to a financial network that controls more than a dozen properties in London, including a set of unoccupied mansions along The Bishops Avenue, known as London’s “Billionaires’ Row,” historically attracting prominent figures like the Sultan of Brunei and Justin Bieber.
One of the London properties, Jersey House, was acquired for £33.7 million ($45.3 million) in 2014 by Ali Ansari, a sanctioned Iranian banker. The estate features its own leisure facilities and staff residences, although a caretaker informed the Times of London that the 1.2-acre grounds now remain vacant.
Reportedly funded by Iranian oil sales and channeled through a network of shell companies and associates, the hidden network supporting these properties indirectly links back to Khamenei through Ansari, an alleged proxy, and a shell company owned by Ansari registered in the Isle of Man.
These lavish properties are believed to have been procured for Khamenei starting in 2013, with two luxury apartments near the Israeli embassy in London also connected to him. Apart from their strategic location near the embassy, these residences are in close proximity to Kensington Palace, raising concerns among security experts about a potential breach.
The properties, situated on a private road, are reportedly under surveillance by local law enforcement and a 24/7 private security team.
Ansari, who was sanctioned by the UK in 2025 for his financial backing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp, a segment of Iran’s military, has consistently denied any financial links or personal ties to Khamenei through his legal representative.
Contrary to Ansari’s assertions, Bloomberg’s investigation established connections between the Iranian businessman and Khamenei through business dealings and private meetings. Several properties along The Bishops Avenue are registered in Ansari’s name or under Birch Ventures, a company associated with Ansari and incorporated in the Isle of Man.
Some of the grand residences along the road have deteriorated, including one mansion damaged by a fire in 2023, as reported by the Times.
The two luxury apartments, purchased in 2014 and 2016 for a total of £35.7 million, are also purportedly owned through Ansari.
Following his sanctioning and classification as a “corrupt banker and businessman” by the UK government, Ansari’s London holdings were prohibited from future transactions by the Treasury in October. Ansari has expressed intentions to contest the UK’s sanctions against him publicly.
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