Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva are linked to several offshore fiduciaries that manage their assets via offshore trusts.
One fiduciary linked to the sisters is the Isle of Man-based Mann Made Group,[631] owned by Alan Hollingsworth and Mark Cundy.[318] [319] [320] [462] [463] The firm owns Hollyberry Trustee Limited, a trust company registered in the Isle of Man.[172] Hollyberry Trustee is closely linked to several offshore companies that have been used to purchase property in London on behalf of members of Azerbaijan’s ruling Aliyev family, including Leyla and Arzu Aliyeva.[172]
Isle of Man trusts provide an added layer of secrecy, beyond that of offshore companies. They protect against asset seizure, because the Isle of Man is one of several tax havens that do not recognize foreign court orders over trusts.[1286] [1287] However, the status of the Aliyeva sisters as politically exposed persons (PEPs) should have prompted the Mann Made Group, as required by Isle of Man law, to conduct in-depth financial checks and ongoing monitoring to mitigate the high risk of money laundering that PEP clients present.[1288]
Hollyberry Trustee is linked to Beckforth Services Limited, an Isle of Man company for which it is a shareholder,[169] as well as seven companies registered in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) over which it exercises “significant control.”[632] [633] [634] [637] [638] [636] [635] These include Capper Marketing Inc,[632] Strahan Holding & Finance Corp,[633] and Nedo Ventures Ltd,[634] all of which have been owned by Leyla or Arzu Aliyeva and have been used to acquire high-value property in London.[520] [982] [275] In all cases, ownership of the BVI companies was transferred to the Isle of Man trust between 2021 and 2022.[632] [633] [634]
Hollyberry Trustee is also linked to several other offshore companies that have been owned by other members of the Aliyev family or their business associates and have been used to buy expensive real estate in the UK.[635] [636] [637] [638]
To learn more about the Aliyev family’s enablers, including Mann Made Group, read The Sentry’s paper “Azerbaijan’s Enablers: Exposing the Team That Helped Construct and Maintain the Aliyev Empire.”
