Homelessness charity Centrepoint has said it is “monitoring the situation closely” after an adviser and donor was named as a “person of importance” in a money-laundering investigation.
Javad Marandi has supported Centrepoint since 2019 and was appointed co-chair of its growth board in January 2020.
On Tuesday, the BBC published details of a High Court case that said Marandi was a “person of importance” in a probe concerning “a complex money-laundering operation operated by Azerbaijan’s ruling elites” that was exposed in 2017 by a global network of investigative journalists.
Marandi “has offered a general denial of wrongdoing” and is not subject to criminal sanction, according to the High Court case.
Centrepoint told Civil Society that it is not aware of any reasons for concern regarding any current or previous donations made by the Marandi Foundation but is “monitoring the situation closely”.
Meanwhile, a Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We are aware of media reporting about Mr Marandi. We are assessing the information to determine if there is a regulatory role for the Commission and any next steps.”
High Court: Marandi is ‘a person of importance in the proceedings’
The recently published High Court case said that Marandi was not a “peripheral figure” in relation to the money-laundering probe but “a person of importance in the main proceedings”.
It added: “The claimant was neither a party nor a witness in the forfeiture proceedings, but he does have some connections with the respondents to those proceedings.”
Previously, a judge had decided to protect Marandi’s identity over concerns that he may face “reputational consequences” should it be revealed.
Following a challenge by the BBC and London Evening Standard, the High Court discharged the anonymity order, arguing that it was “no longer shown to be justified as both necessary for the protection of the claimant’s Article 8 rights and proportionate to that aim”.
Meanwhile, Alison Thewliss, SNP MP for Glasgow Central, said in a parliamentary debate that she had received communication from Marandi’s lawyers that he “denies any wrongdoing”.
Links to Centrepoint
Marandi has been co-chairing Centrepoint’s growth board alongside financier and investor Jamie Reuben since 2021.
The board comprises senior professionals, investors and developers from the property sectors who support the charity’s goal to raise £6m to build 300 new homes for single young people in London and Greater Manchester by 2026.
As co-chair, Marandi is also responsible for the Centrepoint’s works programme, which supports young people to progress into education, training and employment.
The Marandi Foundation, established in 2017 by Marandi and his wife, supports a range of charities including Centrepoint, the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and St Paul’s School.
Unaudited accounts for the year ended 5 April 2022 showed that the foundation had a total income of £926,000 last year, with £903,000 of this being expended as grants, compared with £263,000 in 2021.
The foundation pledged £938,000 to Centrepoint over a four-year period, of which £128,000 was paid in 2021-22.
A Centrepoint spokesperson said that the charity is not aware of any reasons for concern regarding any current or previous donations but is monitoring the situation closely.
“Mr Marandi has supported Centrepoint since 2019. His role has been as co-chair of our strategic growth board helping Centrepoint to build genuinely affordable homes for the homeless young people we support,” they added.
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