Reported by
The U.K. has sanctioned a “corrupt Iranian banker and businessman” for allegedly funding Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the British government announced Thursday.
Aliakbar Ansari, also known as Ali Ansari, 56, was designated “for his role in financially supporting the activities of the IRGC,” the statement read.
The U.K.’s Middle East minister, Hamish Falconer, said the IRGC was responsible for “repression and targeted threats to carry out hostile acts, including here in the UK.”
“This designation sends a clear message — we will not tolerate threats from the IRGC and will not hesitate to take the most effective measures against them,” Falconer added.
Ansari, who has also held Cyprus and St. Kitts & Nevis passports, owns several major banking, retail, and real estate assets in Iran, the U.K., and the UAE. Under Thursday’s designation, he is subject to a U.K. asset freeze and travel ban as part of London’s broader Iran sanctions regime.
Records from Companies House show that Ansari controls Birch Ventures Limited, registered on the Isle of Man. U.K. property data indicate that the company owns 12 properties on North London’s Bishops Avenue, often called “Billionaire’s Row” for its wealthy residents.
Earlier this month, U.K. magazine Private Eye reported that the Ali Ansari listed as Birch Ventures’ owner — described as “Cypriot” in filings — is in fact the Iranian businessman. A company spokesperson reportedly denied “baseless” allegations that Ansari’s business success in Iran relies on ties with the country’s elite.
OCCRP’s own attempts to reach out to U.K. law firms associated with Birch Ventures did not elicit a response from the company, Ansari, or his representatives.
Ansari has also come under scrutiny in Iran. On October 23, it was announced that Ayandeh Bank, one of Iran’s largest private banks, whose major shares were owned by the Ansari family, was to merge with state-owned Bank Melli following years of financial turmoil.
Four days later, Iran’s chief justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said the merger was “aimed at protecting everyone’s rights and preventing further losses,” adding that the bank’s losses of 450 million hemmat (over $4 billion) “are a very significant figure and should have been stopped as soon as possible.”
The next day, Tehran MP Amirhossein Sabeti urged the judiciary to impose a travel ban on Ansari, writing on X: “I request [chief justice] Hojjatoleslam Ejei to take action to ban Ali Ansari, the violator shareholder of Bank Ayandeh, from leaving the country.”
