Some expected prices of UK properties to go down after the country introduced new legislation called the Unexplained Wealth Order, which allows authorities to enquire how owners earned the money they paid the expensive properties with.
If they can’t provide a reasonable explanation, their property can be seized.
It is presumed that international kleptocrats are laundering billions through UK property and the government is now trying to put an end to it.
The wife of an Azeri official was unmasked by such an order earlier this week, after she spent more than $21 million at luxury department store Harrods.
The new legislation might have scared off a few oligarchs, which could have driven property prices down. However, the $209 million property was bought after the new legislation was introduced.
The sale was made in late May to two holding companies registered in Guernsey, PHB London Holdings and PHB London Dormant, according to filings in Britain’s Land Registry. It was funded by a loan by Credit Suisse, reports Bloomberg.
The transaction was connected to real estate mogul Nick Candy, who will manage and rent out the flat at a weekly price of nearly US$200,000, reported the Times.
The apartment complex includes two wine cellars, heated marble floors, parking lots and storage areas. It is adjacent to the Mandarin Oriental hotel--which offers room service to residents of One Hyde Park.
The relatively unremarkable glass-and-steel development in central London is also home to a three-story apartment owned by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov, sold for $179 million in 2011.
Though the ultimate owner of the two shell companies is unclear, the Times reported that the transaction was actually Candy refinancing a property he already owns.
Candy owns One Hyde Park along with his brother Christian Candy and an unknown Qatari investor.
