Foreign
Sons Of Iranian Leaders Killed Alongside Khamenei Linked To $29Million Dubai Luxury Properties Under False Identities — Report
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Sons of associates of powerful Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, who were killed alongside Khamenei in recent US military strikes have been linked to a sprawling $29 million luxury property empire in Dubai, secretly acquired under assumed identities and foreign passports, according to an investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
Property records obtained by OCCRP reveal that Hossein Shamkhani — a sanctioned oil magnate — and his younger brother, Abolfazl Shamkhani, used aliases and Caribbean “golden passports” to acquire at least four high-end villas in the United Arab Emirates.
The brothers are sons of Ali Shamkhani, a senior political adviser to Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Their father was reportedly killed during recent U.S. and Israeli strikes that also claimed the lives of Khamenei and other top Iranian officials, according to ILNA, a semi-official Iranian news agency.
Hossein Shamkhani was sanctioned by the United States and the European Union in July 2025 over allegations that he generated billions of dollars in oil revenue for the governments of Iran and Russia.
The U.S. Treasury identified him as holding Dominican citizenship under the alias “Hugo Hayek.”
OCCRP’s investigation further uncovered that his brother, Abolfazl — who has not been sanctioned — also obtained a Dominica passport under the name “Sami Hayek.”
Using these identities, the brothers acquired luxury real estate in Dubai valued at nearly $29 million at the time of purchase, records show.
Efforts to reach the brothers for comment were unsuccessful.
A man who answered a phone number listed in Dubai property records for “Sami Hayek” dismissed inquiries, saying it was a “wrong number.”
“I don’t care, okay. Thank you, bye,” the man said when told the number appeared in official records.
Calls placed to a number linked to “Hugo Hayek” were not answered.
According to a July 2025 sanctions notice by the U.S. Treasury Department, Hossein Shamkhani allegedly exploited “corruption through his father’s political influence… to build and operate a massive fleet of tankers and containerships.”
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated that the Shamkhani family funneled this “ill-gotten wealth” into “exclusive properties around the world and obtaining foreign passports in exchange for substantial financial investments.”
“These passports allow them to travel undetected and hide their connections to Iran when conducting business overseas in furtherance of their corrupt schemes,” OFAC said.
The United Kingdom also sanctioned Hossein in August 2025, accusing him of supporting Iran’s “hostile activity.”
As geopolitical tensions escalated, U.S. authorities intensified financial actions against the brothers.
On March 6, the U.S. Department of Justice filed two civil forfeiture cases in a federal court in Washington, D.C., targeting accounts containing over $15.3 million.
Prosecutors alleged the funds were tied to “a network of individuals, front companies, shipping companies, and financial institutions” allegedly orchestrated by Hossein Shamkhani.
The funds were seized earlier in 2026 after attempts were made to move them through the U.S. financial system via alleged front companies.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said authorities have “zero tolerance for foreign actors using the U.S. financial system to prop up our nation’s enemies.”
Although Abolfazl Shamkhani is not under sanctions, prosecutors allege he plays a key role in managing parts of the network, including a front company linked to $2 million in seized transfers.
Court filings also reveal that he operates under multiple aliases, including “Hassan Shamkhani” and “Sami Hayek.” He has not been criminally charged.
Records show the brothers initially used their real Iranian identities to acquire properties before switching to their Caribbean aliases.
In July 2019, they purchased two villas in Dubai’s exclusive Golf Place community under the names “Mohammad Hossein Sham Khani” and “Abolfazl Ali Shamkhani.”
A marketing brochure described the estate as a “luxury villa community” with “lush fairways, winding walkways, meticulously landscaped parks and gardens, as well as vast open spaces that would enhance the life of every resident.”
One of the villas, reportedly owned by Abolfazl, was later featured by a design firm, showcasing high-end interiors, expansive terraces, and a swimming pool overlooking a golf course.
Subsequent acquisitions were made under their Dominican identities.
In July 2022, Hossein — using the name “Hugo Hayek” — purchased a villa on Jumeirah Bay Island, an elite, man-made seahorse-shaped development off Dubai’s coast.
Just months later, in October 2022, Abolfazl, under the alias “Sami Hayek,” acquired another luxury residence in the same area.
Both properties remain in their possession under the assumed names.
It remains unclear whether the brothers still hold Dominican citizenship. Authorities in Dominica reportedly revoked Hossein’s passport following U.S. sanctions, but officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The brothers’ use of false identities extends beyond real estate.
Corporate records show that Abolfazl, as “Sami Hayek,” registered as a limited partner in a Cyprus-based investment fund, Saleya Fund RAIF LP, in November 2024, using his Dubai residence.
The fund has yet to file financial accounts, and its operations remain opaque.
The aliases also appear in records of a Turkish firm — Green Energy Chemicals Enerji Kimyasallari — which was later sanctioned by the U.S. for allegedly facilitating oil shipments for Iran and Russia in violation of sanctions.
The brothers were listed as founding shareholders before transferring their stakes in 2023 to Dubai-based Milavous Group Ltd.
Both the European Union and the United Kingdom have sanctioned Milavous Group, alleging it was used to conceal the origin of Russian oil and facilitate illicit transactions.
In March, U.S. prosecutors described the company as a “de facto corporate holding or management company” for businesses linked to the Shamkhani network.
However, Hossein Shamkhani denied any involvement.
In a statement to Bloomberg, he said he had “neither founded nor owned” Milavous Group and insisted he had “any role” in its management.
He also denied owning oil companies, claiming he operates only in countries “not under sanctions.”
Despite the denial, U.S. prosecutors allege that Hossein delegated parts of his operations to his brother, including activities linked to a Dubai-based entity known as Admiral Group.
The European Union has accused the firm of being used by Hossein to transport and sell Russian crude oil.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has become the first person in the world to get the “trillionaire” tag. Investor confidence in Musk’s businesses was on full display on Thursday when SpaceX, which deals in reusable rockets, satellites and artificial intelligence, secured a record USD 75 billion through its initial public offering, reported news agency Reuters.
Alongside electric-vehicle manufacturer Tesla, SpaceX sits at the heart of Musk’s business empire.
Before the share offering, Forbes estimated Musk’s net worth at around USD 780 billion, placing him comfortably ahead of the second-richest individual, Alphabet co-founder Larry Page.
Matt Durot, deputy editor at Forbes Wealth was quoted as saying by Reuters: “The second richest person has been hovering around $300 billion, so about less than one-third of what Musk can potentially be worth tomorrow.” “And only one other person, Oracle founder Larry Ellison, has ever been worth USD 400 billion.”
Elon Musk’s major holdings
A major part of Musk’s wealth is now tied to SpaceX, where his stake is valued at roughly USD 866 billion. Combined with his holdings in Tesla and other ventures, Forbes estimates his net worth at USD 1.1 trillion once SpaceX shares began trading on Friday, according to Reuters calculations based on company filings.
Musk first rose to global prominence through Tesla and SpaceX before extending his influence further with the USD 44 billion purchase of Twitter (now X) in 2022, which gave him access to a massive online community and the chance to regulate the platform. In addition to Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has helped launch several other companies, including tunnel-construction venture The Boring Company and brain-implant developer Neuralink.
His growing involvement in politics has also generated controversy. Among the most debated episodes was his participation in US President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency last year. The political backlash coincided with low Tesla sales in several overseas markets during 2025, as the company faced protests and consumer boycotts.
The US and Iran have exchanged fire after President Donald Trump blamed Tehran for the downing of an American military helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said it launched airstrikes at Iranian targets at 17:00 ET (21:00 GMT) on Tuesday and later said the operation was complete.
In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched strikes on two US bases in the region, one in Bahrain and the other in Jordan, while Kuwait’s army said it was also intercepting an attack.
The US has described its strikes as “a proportional response” for the Apache helicopter downing, while the IRGC described the attacks as “vicious”.
The exchange of fire comes after two crew members of the downed helicopter were rescued by an American sea drone on Monday, Centcom said. It was the first time the US military publicly confirmed that type of vessel was used in such an operation.
According to US officials, Iran used a drone to launch the attack on the helicopter. But it’s not clear whether the Iranian drone had deliberately attacked, an unnamed US official told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that Iran had not claimed responsibility for the downed aircraft.
In response, Centcom said US fighter jets “struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz”.
The IRGC said US strikes had damaged a telecommunications tower and two water tanks.
Iran said the US had targeted the cities of Jask and Sirik, and Qeshem – an island in the Gulf.
Centcom released the statement saying the mission was “completed” just over three hours after it announced an initial wave of strikes triggered by the downing of the US helicopter on Monday.
US officials are yet to comment on reports of attacks on its bases and it is unclear if there has been any damage. However, an air raid alert was issued in Bahrain, according to local authorities who said Iranian attacks had been repelled.
US President Donald Trump said earlier on Tuesday the downed helicopter had been patrolling the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping channel that was effectively closed days after the US launched its first strikes on Iran in late February.
“There were two pilots involved, both are safe and uninjured,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack.”
In Washington, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was in the room with Trump when he decided that US attacks on Iran should resume.
“We lament that it became necessary,” said the top Republican in Congress, adding that “we’re gonna have to take care of this business”.
Iran’s foreign minister issued a threat to the US in the aftermath of the renewed US attacks, saying the country “will leave no attack or threat unanswered”.
“Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the US opted to test our determination,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X.
He added: “Leave our region if you want to be safe.”
Araghchi said on Tuesday that foreign forces near Iran’s territory were at “constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents or potentially being caught in crossfire”.
“To reduce risk, best solution is for them [foreign forces] to leave,” the Iranian leader said in a post on X.
Minutes before Trump’s comments on the downed American Apache helicopte on Tuesday, Iran’s top negotiator in peace talks with Washington, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, took to social media to signal retaliation.
“We prefer the language of diplomacy, but we speak other languages far more fluently. Break your commitments, and we’ll switch to what we speak best.”
“You ride the horse you saddled!,” he wrote.
The flare-up between the US and Iran comes after Israeli forces carried out strikes across southern Lebanon on Tuesday.
Tehran had warned that Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon would trigger another wave of retaliatory strikes.
Israel and Iran halted attacks on each other after exchanging fire over the weekend for the first time since April’s truce.
Trump publicly told both countries to “immediately stop ‘shooting’” because they were jeopardising negotiations between Washington and Tehran on a deal to end the regional war.
He said on Truth Social that Israel and Iran are looking to do “an immediate ceasefire” but peace is “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way”.
On Tuesday he also told journalists: “We’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” adding that it could take “two or three days” and the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately after.
US President Donald Trump abruptly walked out of an interview with NBC after being repeatedly challenged on several claims by the show’s presenter Kristen Welker.
During the interview, which aired on Sunday’s Meet The Press, the president claimed both the current primary elections in California and the 2020 presidential election were “rigged”.
When pressed for evidence on California’s vote by Welker, he said: “All I have to do is look, and I listen.”
After the presenter replied “that’s not evidence”, Trump accused the media of being “crooked”, before ending the interview: “Sorry, let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough.”
The president has had a fraught relationship with traditional media outlets, often accusing them of bias against him.
The interview, set in a barn as Trump appeared at an event with farmers in Wisconsin, was delayed repeatedly due to technical difficulties and rain hitting the metal roof. NBC reported that he walked out 50 minutes after sitting down for it on Friday.
Much of the interview involved Welker questioning Trump over the conflict with Iran, with him insisting the US needed to act to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and that it would not be “an endless war”.
“We’re there for a few months and the threat is largely over,” he said.
Around six minutes before he left the set, the pair discussed the “anti-weaponisation” fund, a now-dropped plan to create a $1.8bn (£1.3bn) fund to compensate individuals who claim they were unfairly targeted or investigated by the government.
The plan drew strong criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, who argued it could result in payments to people prosecuted over the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021.
The pair then moved onto discussing that riot, and Trump was challenged after he repeated his unsubstantiated claim that the 2020 election was rigged.
Trump turned to the California primary elections, where votes are still being counted to determine which two candidates in a series of races – including governor of the state – will be on the ballot in November’s midterm elections.
He said the results had not been called after four days, adding: “They’re cheating on the election.”
“Do you have evidence to support that?” Welker responded.
“All I have to do is look, and I listen,” the president replied.
“But that’s not evidence,” she interjected.
Full results have not yet been called in the state where delays are common due to a particularly meticulous vote-counting process and broad use of mail-in ballots. Mail-in voting has long irked the president.
“They’re crooked,” he continued, “just like you’re crooked.”
Welker said: “To be fair, I’m not crooked. But let’s continue.”
Trump then told Welker “you’re either crooked or you’re stupid”, and after a further exchange said: “Let’s call it quits because I’ve had enough. Thank you darling, have a good time.”
Welker attempted to continue the interview, but Trump interrupted: “I’ve sat in the rain with you for an hour, on and off in the rain, and I’ve given you enough time.
“You ought to straighten out your press, because you know what? A country can never be great with a dishonest press.”
He then gestured to people behind the camera, saying “come on, let’s go”, before standing up and walking off the set.
After the interview was broadcast, Welker said: “I spoke with President Trump on Saturday and we both acknowledged the complications during the interview posed by the rain. He agreed to sit down with me for another Meet the Press interview.”
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