British authorities have placed a freeze on a multi-million-dollar mansion in one of London’s most prestigious neighborhoods, suspecting the property was bought with illegally obtained money.
The Crown Prosecution Service’s Proceeds of Crime unit filed documents on July 3 to block a luxury residence in Highgate, valued at $32.7 million, which was purchased in July 2024 by Yu Cong, a Chinese national holding Cambodian citizenship. No criminal charges have been filed against the individual in the United Kingdom, and the freeze had not been disclosed publicly until now, with records obtained by Transparency International UK.
The home was previously owned by Nurali Aliyev, the grandson of Kazakhstan’s former president. In 2019, the National Crime Agency had imposed an unexplained wealth order on the mansion, which was later overturned in court the following year. Aliyev then sold it to Yu Cong, according to property documents. In a statement, Aliyev said he had never personally met Yu Cong and that the transaction proceeded through a broker.
Yu Cong did not respond to inquiries about the source of funds for the purchase. Land records also show he acquired an $8 million apartment in London’s Gasholder Building near King’s Cross in August 2022. That property is not affected by the current freeze, but its title was transferred to an individual named Xu Peng in July 2024.
Investigations have revealed connections between Yu Cong and Yuan Yihua, another Chinese national with Cambodian citizenship, who faced a separate asset freeze in May. Yuan Yihua owns a London apartment where Yu Cong’s companies are registered, and both men are listed at the same Singapore address in corporate filings, as well as having chaired companies in Cambodia. Xu Peng also listed a personal correspondence address at a property owned by Yuan Yihua.
The moves come as British prosecutors intensify efforts to target assets suspected of being tied to illicit financial flows, with a new strategy emphasizing asset recovery as a priority.