Chinese crypto investor was seller of £190mn London mansion

{"text":[[{"start":13.28,"text":"A Chinese crypto investor was the seller in one of London’s most expensive home deals, with his ownership not publicly known for the near two-year period in which he owned the property."}],[{"start":24.4,"text":"Leon Li, who founded one of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, recently sold the Regent’s Park mansion known as The Holme for about £190mn, according to people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":37.48,"text":"The FT had earlier reported that real estate developer Abbas Sajwani was nearing a deal to purchase the mansion. The seller’s identity could not be ascertained at the time."}],[{"start":48.28,"text":"A representative of Li’s family office declined to comment."}],[{"start":51.96,"text":"A former Oracle coder, Li founded crypto exchange Huobi in 2013 in China. He sold his stake in 2022 after Beijing cracked down on crypto."}],[{"start":63.52,"text":"This summer Huobi was sanctioned by the UK and EU for supporting Russia’s financial sector following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine."}],[{"start":71.16,"text":"Li’s name was not public, despite UK transparency laws designed to illuminate property ownership."}],[{"start":77.72,"text":"He bought the mansion for £139mn in 2024, two years after Britain created a register of overseas entities to help the government identify mystery owners."}],[{"start":89.4,"text":"The register requires individuals who own UK property through offshore vehicles to publicly reveal their ownership at Companies House."}],[{"start":97.3,"text":"The Holme’s registered owner was not an offshore vehicle, but a UK subsidiary of Zedra, a corporate service and wealth management firm that runs trusts on behalf of various clients."}],[{"start":107.56,"text":"Zedra Trust Company (UK) Limited, the subsidiary, does not publicly disclose the individuals using its services at Companies House. Trusts in the UK provide this information to the government to comply with the law but do not automatically have to reveal it to the public."}],[{"start":123.52,"text":"The Holme, which has a four-acre private garden, is located not far from the US ambassador’s home. It is owned on a long lease from the Crown Estate."}],[{"start":132.4,"text":"The 40-bedroom mansion had been owned by a Saudi prince and his family. Li bought and sold it within two years."}],[{"start":138.88,"text":"The latest buyer’s father, Hussain Sajwani, is an Emirati billionaire and a longtime business partner of Donald Trump who is sometimes called “the Donald of Dubai”."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":149.36,"text":"Li’s family office, Avenir Group, is based in Hong Kong and focuses on investing in digital assets. It is Asia’s largest holder of bitcoin exchange traded funds."}],[{"start":160,"text":"In April, crypto wealth management group Bitfire Group, in which Li is the top shareholder with a 30 per cent stake, said it would buy Avenir’s investment team and trading systems for $1.6mn."}],[{"start":172.8,"text":"Companies House filings show that Abbas Sajwani has taken a mortgage out on The Holme, borrowing from Deutsche Bank’s Luxembourg branch. The mortgage has been taken out by Zedra’s UK subsidiary, according to corporate filings."}],[{"start":190.58,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789191761_5083.mp3"}