Luxury hotels, London mansions: €400m property network linked to Mojtaba Khamenei

Dubai: A network of luxury properties across Europe — including high-end hotels in Germany and prime real estate in London — has been linked to associates of Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to investigations by Bloomberg and the Financial Times.

The reports suggest that the 56-year-old cleric, long viewed as a powerful behind-the-scenes figure within Iran’s ruling establishment, may have overseen a complex international investment network stretching from Tehran to London and Frankfurt.

The allegations come just days after Iran’s Assembly of Experts appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in wartime strikes on February 28.

In a statement announcing the decision, the clerical body said it had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei as the third supreme leader of the Islamic Republic.

“By a decisive vote, the Assembly of Experts appointed Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei as the third leader of the sacred system of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the assembly said.

(According to Bloomberg and Financial Times investigations)

Iranian political leaders, the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the armed forces quickly pledged allegiance to the new leader.

President Masoud Pezeshkian described the appointment as the start of “a new era of dignity and strength” for Iran.

But the succession has drawn scrutiny not only for marking the first father-to-son leadership transfer in the Islamic Republic, but also for renewed attention on Mojtaba Khamenei’s alleged financial networks abroad.

According to a year-long investigation by Bloomberg News, Mojtaba Khamenei has been linked to a network of overseas real estate investments worth hundreds of millions of euros.

The assets are not held directly in his name but are instead controlled through intermediaries and offshore companies.

Bloomberg reported that the network includes luxury homes in London’s exclusive Bishops Avenue — often dubbed “Billionaire’s Row” — an upscale hotels across Europe.

Corporate documents and property records reviewed by Bloomberg show that many of the purchases were made through companies tied to Iranian businessman Ali Ansari.

Ansari, a construction magnate and former banker, has been identified by analysts and Western intelligence assessments as a key financial intermediary within the network.

A separate investigation by the Financial Times estimated that Ansari’s European property portfolio alone could be worth around €400 million.

The properties span multiple countries and are held through a web of offshore companies registered in jurisdictions including Luxembourg, St Kitts and Nevis, Austria, Germany and Spain.

Bloomberg reported that funds used for several transactions were routed through banks in the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

According to people familiar with the matter cited in the report, much of the money originated from revenues linked to Iranian oil sales.

One of the most prominent assets identified in the investigation is the Hilton Frankfurt Gravenbruch, a five-star luxury hotel in Germany’s financial capital.

Corporate filings show the property has been owned since 2011 through companies linked to Ansari and his associates.

The hotel entered into a management agreement with Hilton in 2024.

The network also includes luxury real estate in London as well as resort properties across southern Europe.

Officials in Frankfurt have raised concerns about how Iran-linked capital has flowed into the city’s hospitality sector.

Nargess Eskandari-Grunberg, Frankfurt’s deputy mayor, said the investments highlighted weaknesses in international financial oversight.

“Our property market should not serve as a safe deposit box for cronies who finance repressive regimes,” she said.

Ali Ansari has denied acting as a financial proxy for Mojtaba Khamenei.

In a statement issued through his lawyer, he said he “strongly denies that he has ever had any financial or personal relationship with Mojtaba Khamenei.”

Ansari was sanctioned by the United Kingdom in October 2025 for allegedly supporting activities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

He has said he plans to challenge the sanctions.

Neither Mojtaba Khamenei nor Iranian authorities responded to requests for comment from Bloomberg regarding the allegations.

Analysts say the reported financial network illustrates how Iranian elites have been able to move capital abroad despite decades of Western sanctions targeting the country’s leadership.

The revelations come as Mojtaba Khamenei assumes power at a time of escalating regional conflict and growing international pressure on Iran’s leadership.