A super-rich couple with a £5m home on the banks of the Thames in Richmond have agreed to hand over £4 million to settle a money laundering legal case.

The details of the settlement were revealed today by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which had been taking legal action against Suleyman and Izzat Javadova, who have family ties to senior members of the Azerbaijan government.

The couple were at the centre of an NCA investigation involving the transfer of millions of pounds of suspect cash to the UK through what has become known as the 'Azerbaijan Laundromat'.

The NCA said today's decision by the couple to forfeit just over £4m held in Mr Javadov's name settles the claim, and several freezing orders on their other accounts now fall away.

A forfeiture hearing to recover the money was due to start at Westminster Magistrates' Court today (5 July), but will now not go ahead following the settlement.

Head of Asset Denial at the NCA, Andy Lewis, said: "This result is a significant success for the UK – £4m for the public purse – following the first case seeking forfeiture of funds relating to the so called Azerbaijan Laundromat.

"It follows a challenging and complex NCA investigation lasting more than two years, which resulted in Javadov agreeing to settle rather than face a court battle.

"Anyone who used the Azerbaijan Laundromat should not rest easy, as your assets in the UK are potentially recoverable.

"Our investigation shows the inherent danger of moving money in this way. If money transfers though a 'laundromat' system, we can go after it. We will use all means at our disposal to prevent the UK being attractive for this sort of activity."

The NCA had launched legal action to seize millions of pounds held in the couple's accounts, which had been transferred to the UK via a complex web of transactions, including fake invoices for vast quantities of steel.

Suleyman Javadov has close links to the ruling elite in Azerbaijan where his father was deputy energy minister until his dismissal last year.

His glamorous wife Izzat, who is also known under her DJ name Mikaela Jav, is a cousin of Azerbaijan's ruler Ilham Aliyev and the daughter of a former Azerbaijan MP Jalal Aliyev.

The couple own several London homes, worth millions of pounds, including a flat in Whitehall and a huge apartment in the prestigious Richmond Bridge development.

The couple bought a fourth-floor apartment in Blanchard House on the luxury estate - a high-security gated development - in October 1996 for £960,000. Today, its value is put at more than £5m.

They formerly owned Love The Underground Records, a promotions firm known for throwing "techno and tech house parties" frequented by celebrities in luxury surroundings including London's Kensington Roof Gardens and Ibiza.

The NCA were granted Account Freezing Orders in 2018 and 2019 on ten bank accounts held by the couple, which contained a total of £6.4 million.

Matthew Long, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA, said "This case is a significant moment in the UK's fight against illicit finance. What we've shown here is that the method you use to transfer money matters.

"The use of Civil powers to target money entering the UK via illegitimate means is gaining real momentum. International elites should pay close attention and make sure any method used to transfer their assets is legitimate from end-to-end."

The NCA investigation involved cooperation from law enforcement partners in a number of countries including Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Latvia and Spain.

The problems of 'dirty money' being funneled to the UK via the so-called Azerbaijan Laundromat were first revealed in a joint investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and Transparency International's UK chapter.