Hotels in Europe, villas in Dubai: Inside the luxurious empire of Khamenei's son

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second-eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is regarded as a potential successor. Bloomberg says his overseas investments include British property valued at more than £100 million, a villa in Dubai and luxury hotels across Europe, despite US sanctions imposed on him in 2019.

A network of luxury homes on London’s "Billionaire’s Row", upscale hotels in Europe and prime real estate in the Middle East has been linked to Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s Supreme Leader, according to a year-long investigation by Bloomberg.

The properties hidden behind shell companies on The Bishops Avenue in north London — a street lined with near-empty mansions guarded by private security — form part of a financial network stretching from Tehran to Dubai and Frankfurt.

Ownership of the assets does not appear in Mojtaba Khamenei’s name, but Western intelligence assessments and people familiar with the matter say he has been directly involved in the transactions for more than a decade, as per the report.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second-eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and is regarded as a potential successor. Bloomberg says his overseas investments include British property valued at more than £100 million, a villa in Dubai and luxury hotels across Europe, despite US sanctions imposed on him in 2019.

Funds for the purchases were routed through banks in the UK, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the United Arab Emirates, with the money originating largely from Iranian oil sales. One London property alone was bought for €33.7 million in 2014, documents reviewed by Bloomberg show.

None of the records list Mojtaba Khamenei as the owner. Instead, many of the assets are linked to Ali Ansari, an Iranian construction magnate sanctioned by the UK last year.