London has blacklisted a prominent Iranian banker and businessman, alleging he funneled money to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the British government announced on Thursday.
Aliakbar Ansari, also known as Ali Ansari, 56, was slapped with an asset freeze and travel ban for his purported role in financially backing the IRGC, according to an official statement.
Middle East minister Hamish Falconer condemned the IRGC, calling it responsible for “repression and targeted threats to carry out hostile acts, including here in the UK.” He added that the 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.”
Ansari, who also holds Cypriot and St. Kitts & Nevis passports, controls a network of banking, retail, and real estate assets in Iran, the UK, and the UAE. London’s sanctions now bar him from accessing UK-based funds and entering the country.
Corporate records from Companies House reveal that Ansari runs Birch Ventures Limited, a firm registered on the Isle of Man. UK property data shows the company owns 12 properties on Bishops Avenue in North London, a street nicknamed “Billionaire’s Row” due to its wealthy residents.
Earlier this month, a British magazine reported that the Ali Ansari listed as Birch Ventures’ owner—described as “Cypriot” in filings—is the same Iranian businessman. A company spokesperson reportedly dismissed as “baseless” claims that Ansari’s business success in Iran depends on ties to the country’s elite.
Ansari has also faced scrutiny in Iran. On October 23, officials announced that Ayandeh Bank, one of Iran’s largest private banks, in which the Ansari family held major shares, would merge with state-owned Bank Melli following years of financial troubles.
Four days later, Iran’s chief justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, said the merger was designed “to protect everyone’s rights and prevent further losses,” noting that the bank’s losses of 450 million hemmat (over $4 billion) were “a very significant figure and should have been stopped as soon as possible.”
The next day, Tehran MP Amirhossein Sabeti called for a travel ban on Ansari, posting 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.”