Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-23)

KOLAWOLE ALUKO

Nigeria / Energy executive

Borrowed €25 million from

the bank, pledging a 213-foot

yacht and his New York pent-

house as col-

lateral. The U.S.

Department of

Justice would

later allege

that he con-

spired to bribe

a government minister to steer

contracts from Nigeria’s state-

owned oil company his way.

Both Aluko and the minister

have denied this.

ARZU AND LEYLA ALIYEVA

Azerbaijan / Daughters of President Ilham Aliyev

U.S. diplomats have privately described the country under

Aliyev as being run in a feudal manner, and he’s been

accused of rigging elections. The Aliyev family and its

associates hold assets of more than $3 billion, and the sis-

ters are among the owners of the country’s largest busi-

ness. They opened

several accounts at

Banque Havilland.

Luxembourg’s reg-

ulators said the

bank didn’t have

appropriate mea-

sures in place for

such “high-risk

clients.”

JOSHUA KULEI

Kenya / Former assistant

to President Daniel Arap Moi

Received a £2.2 million mort-

gage from the bank even

though he’d been banned

from the U.S. after allegations

of graft, which he’s disputed.

a spokesmanforLuxembourg’s judicial administration. The

matteris currentlybefore an investigative judge, the spokesman

says,addingthatthere’s a presumption of innocence in the

absenceofa finalruling. Among other things, the investigation

is lookingatthebank’s relationship with the political elite of

Azerbaijan,saytwopeople familiar with the probe.

PrinceAndrewhasbeen a frequent visitor to the oil-rich

country,bothwhilehe was the U.K.’s trade envoy and after,

andmetmorethana dozen times with President Ilham Aliyev.

Aliyevhadtakenoverfrom his father, a former KGB major gen-

eralwho’druledtheformer Soviet republic for a decade. The

youngerAliyevchanged the constitution in 2009 so he could

bereelectedanunlimited number of times, and in 2017 he

appointedhiswifefirst vice president.

He’salsobeenaccused by human-rights groups of torturing

oppositionpoliticians,imprisoning journalists, and rigging elec-

tions—aleakedU.S.diplomatic cable from 2010 compared him

toa mafiabossandsaid Azerbaijan was “run in a manner sim-

ilartothefeudalismfound in Europe during the Middle Ages.”

Aliyev’sfamilyandclose associates hold assets worth more

than$3billionateightof the country’s biggest privately owned

banks,aswellasmansions in London, the Czech Republic,

Dubai,andRussia,according to the Organized Crime and

CorruptionReportingProject (OCCRP). In 2007, Transparency

InternationalrankedAzerbaijan among the worst countries—150

outof179—onitsCorruption Perceptions Index.

DavidandJonathan Rowland accompanied Andrew on

a triptoAzerbaijanin 2008. Afterward, Jonathan emailed a

relative of Aliyev’s wife who ran the country’s largest com-

pany, Pasha Holding. “We are business advisors to HRH and

travel with him on various engagements globally where we

believe we can operate as independent investors/advisors

with his assistance through his unique network,” he wrote.

Jonathan went on to detail the services Blackfish, his family

investment office, could provide. He said it handled money for

other heads of state and ultrahigh-net-worth individuals. And

he asked for the contact details of Aliyev’s daughters, Leyla

and Arzu Aliyeva, whom he’d invited to stay aboard the yacht

of British investor Joe Lewis when they visited St. Tropez later

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ARKADY PATARKATSISHVILI

Georgia / Billionaire

businessman and politician

Although

Patarkatsishvili

died in the U.K.

in 2008, a com-

pany controlled

by his heirs bor-

rowed $5 million from the

Rowlands, which was routed

through one of their accounts

at Banque Havilland. A com-

pliance officer at the bank

warned that the Georgian was

an alleged criminal and that

his money was tainted.

A Roster of Risky Business

A SOURED LOAN to one Banque Havilland client led to a

foreclosure on a $49 million apartment at One57 in New York

that summer. The daughters are among the beneficial owners

of Pasha, according to a 2014 company filing made public by

the OCCRP.

Andrew and the Rowlands made another trip to Azerbaijan

later that year. The prince was there in his official capacity as

trade envoy. It was dark by the time the visitors descended

the steps to the tarmac at Baku Heydar Aliyev International

Airport. Sporting matching gold ties and dark business

suits, Andrew and David were met by Britain’s ambassador

to Azerbaijan and an Azeri government minister. Later that

evening, Andrew met with Aliyev.