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High Court rules force sale of homes of a billionaire fraudster who is on the run dodging 22 months jail sentence (22 May 2013)

Date: 22/05/2013
Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, High Court rules force sale of homes of a billionaire fraudster who is on the run dodging 22 months jail sentence

A High Court has ruled that the homes, worth more than £41million, which were owned by a billionaire fraudster be sold to recover the crime money.
The homes include £ 20m Carlton House on Hampstead’s “Billionaire’s Row” and the 100 acre Oaklands Park estate near Egham in Surrey. The luxury homes contain swimming pools, a helipad, a Turkish bath for 12 and a Thunderbirds style car lift.
These were part of the £150 million property portfolios once owned in and around London by ex-Kazakhstan banker Mukhtar Ablyazov. He fled to London to claim asylum in 2009 after the BTA bank he ran collapsed with £11.8 billion debts.
The bank, along with its creditors fought back by bringing £6 billion claims in the High Court. Until now they could succeed in securing £2.4 billion of Ablyazov’s assets and proceedings are continuing to claw back more of his wealth.
The court had imposed a 22 month sentence in contempt for trying to hide his vast fortune and ever since he had been on the run dodging the jail sentence.
The receivers have been given a go ahead by the court to put the three homes up for sale.
The favourite property of Ablyazov where the father of four lived with his family before becoming a fugitive the Carlton House, has a 50 ft long ballroom, a lift to take cars from the four vehicle underground garage up to the forecourt. It has kitchen big enough to cater for banquets, a cherry wood paneled library as well nine bedroom suites each fitted with Italian marble bathrooms.
Oaklands Park, at Englefield Green on the edge of Windsor Great Park, is estimated to be worth £20 million.
It was formerly owned by US computer billionaire Michael Dell before Ablyazov’s companies snapped it up.
Apart from the stunning scenery over an arboretum, lakes and woodlands, the estate has eight houses, tennis courts and a helipad.
The third property, although outwardly more modest, is particularly handy for cricket lovers, situated just a few minutes from Lord’s Cricket ground.
The £1?million apartment in Albert’s Court, St John’s Wood, is in a gated development close to Marylebone station with 24-hour porterage, and use of a communal gym, swimming pool and underground parking.
Pavel Prosyankin of BTA bank who is overseeing the asset recovery process said that the High Court order was another important step forward in the bank’s efforts to recover the billions of dollars in assets which Mr Ablayzov had misappropriated.
He added now they could move to liquidate the assets and the bank would continue to influence the English High Court judgments to pursue assets across the globe.

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