This month, British newspapers reported that an Azerbaijani millionaire DJ, Mikaela Jav, and her husband, Suleyman Javadov, had been forced to forfeit £4 million to the National Crime Agency, after admitting the funds had entered the UK illegally through a complex money laundering system known as the ‘Azerbaijan Laundromat’.
Pictures of the Javadovs’ lavish lifestyle, including four multi-million pound properties in London, ran alongside commentary pointing out that the NCA actually reclaimed £10 million less than was originally under question.
The NCA claimed the forfeiture as a victory. But a more remarkable moment came when the Evening Standard succeeded in overturning a court-issued anonymity order on the couple last month, which had prevented the media from naming the Javadovs.
