A Chinese national has agreed a £16.7 million settlement representing what investigators suspect to be the proceeds of crime.
Shijie Song - who denies any wrongdoing - also forfeited a luxury residential property in Westminster, six apartments in Hendon and cash in a UK bank account.
The National Crime Agency launched a civil recovery and frozen funds investigation.
It suspects Song’s assets were acquired from trading in securities in China without the relevant regulatory permissions and the profits of this laundered into Britain.
Song failed to provide the NCA with any reasonable explanation for the source of funds used to purchase the properties or substantial sums held in banks.
He denied engaging in any criminal activity whatsoever, a spokesman said.
The High Court made no finding in that regard and a Civil Recovery Order on Consent does not represent a finding of guilt.
Rob Burgess, NCA head of asset denial, added: “This substantial sum recovered demonstrates the determination of the NCA to pursue assets that we suspect have criminal origins.
“We use both civil and criminal powers to investigate the provenance of assets in the UK, and this includes cases when the suspected criminality was committed overseas.
“This case was conducted with the co-operation of the Ministry of Public Security in China.”
