London’s status as a safe haven for dirty foreign money relies on our own complicity February 4, 2022 For a decade, Zamira Hajiyeva, the wife of a jailed Azerbaijani banker, spent an average of £4,000 a day in Harrods. It was only in 2019 that the law finally caught up with her £16m Harrods bill. Her unexplained wealth – including a £12m Knightsbridge house – are set to be seized. Hajiyeva is a [...]
Gazumping and you: How to avoid being gazumped on your dream home September 22, 2023 Moving house is rated as one of the top three stressful events in life, alongside death and divorce, heaven forbid. Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, along trundles the devilish duo of gazumping and gazundering. Derived from the Yiddish word “gazumph” (to overcharge or cheat) these twin horsemen of the property apocalypse [...]
Minorplanet spins October 6, 2021 Shares in Minorplanet plummeted dramatically as it announced it would go bankrupt if its share placing and open offer were not fully taken up. The company provides vehicle tracking systems to fleet operators. Clients include Boots and Harrods. It has placed 21m new ordinary shares with institutional investors, raising £10.5m. It has also made an [...]
Claridge’s hotel review: Is this the best sleep in London? May 5, 2024 Claridge's has been voted the best hotel in London. Does it live up to the hype?
Former boss of designer shoe brand worn by Meghan jailed for four years for £500k expenses scam August 20, 2021 The former boss of a designer shoe brand worn by the Duchess of Sussex has been jailed for more than four years after falsely claiming £500,000 in expenses. Roy Luwolt, 38, earned £150,000 a year as the self-styled co-founder and managing director of Malone Souliers, whose luxury footwear has been sported by celebrities including Meghan, [...]
Woman who spent £16m in Harrods loses appeal against first ‘McMafia’ wealth order February 5, 2020 A woman who spent £16m at Harrods in a decade has lost a legal challenge against the UK’s first Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO). Zamira Hajiyeva, the wife of Azerbijani banker Jahangir Hajiyev, had been attempting to overturn a UWO obtained by the National Crime Agency in 2018 against a property in Knightsbridge. Read more: Woman [...]
A festive trip to Harrods reveals Insta-ready windows and a new Homes section December 6, 2019 For a special Christmas treat, when I was a child we always went to see Santa in his grotto in a department store. If Harrods is your go-to grotto (he’s been there since 1955), your children will encounter the bearded one in a Secret Forest decorated with Swarovski crystal (a girl’s second-best friend). Visiting last [...]
Ian McKellen said he couldn’t come out as gay because of me, says former lover September 14, 2023 Sean Mathias has directed Ian McKellen in over thirty productions. In this wide-ranging interview, he talks to Adam Bloodworth about the strength of their working relationship, which spans over 30 productions, and thinks back to their personal relationship, as the duo’s new London theatre show, Frank and Percy, opens in the capital There can’t be [...]
Woman who spent £16m in Harrods will not be extradited to Azerbaijan September 26, 2019 A judge ruled today that a woman who spent £16m in Harrods and was the target of the UK’s first unexplained wealth order (UWO) will not be extradited to Azerbaijan. Zamira Hajiyeva, whose banker husband is serving a 15-year sentence for fraud and embezzlement, faced extradition to Azerbaijan to stand trial on multiple fraud charges. [...]
No tall tales here but quite a yarn! May 4, 2022 It seems that many of the decisions that have made Brodie Cashmere a fashion powerhouse over the last 12 years were taken round the kitchen table – all the way from the initial set up to overcoming Covid’s impact in the last couple of years. Anne-Marie Holdsworth set up her luxury apparel and accessories company [...]