Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has spent his life in the shadows — rarely seen, rarely heard and leaving behind almost no footprint. That is, except for his global network of assets worth millions of dollars.
A ski resort in the Austrian Alps, luxury flats with servants in London, a golf and spa resort in Mallorca, and hotels in Frankfurt are among the assets linked to Khamenei globally, according to multiple media reports.
It is unclear whether the new supreme leader or the regime has any assets in Australia, but experts warn "there is a risk".
Khamenei succeeded his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, earlier this month after the former leader was killed in joint US-Israeli air strikes — thrusting the younger Khamenei into the global spotlight.
While the 56-year-old's net worth is not known, a list of publicly identified assets compiled by SBS News indicates it could be well into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Dara Conduit, a senior lecturer in political science at the University of Melbourne, tells SBS News it has earned him the nickname 'nepotollah'.
"Which is a play on nepo-baby and ayatollah … because of his widely recognised wealth," she says.
A 'bankrupt' promise
His opaque financial empire also reportedly spans from Persian Gulf shipping to Swiss bank accounts.
"It's very sensitive politically that the [former] supreme leader and the new supreme leader — and also his father — had garnished so much wealth from the state," Conduit says.
"So that means that it's really deeply hidden.
We are talking shell companies and fronts and all sorts of things across the world. It's very difficult to know exactly how much money he has.
Reports of the Khamenei family's wealth sit uncomfortably for many Iranians, who have been facing a severe economic crisis in recent years, which the regime blames on US sanctions.
In January, a significant protest movement emerged in the country, initially triggered by economic grievances after shopkeepers closed their shops and went on strike.
Iran's currency plummeted to a record low at the start of this year, losing nearly 800 per cent of its value since 2020. Inflation reached 42.5 per cent in December.
This economic crisis is the antithesis of the vision sold by the Islamic regime when it came to power after the 1979 revolution.
Conduit says two of the key promises made by the regime were that they would defend the oppressed and redistribute wealth.
"That redistributed promise of the Iranian revolution is long gone," she says.
Regime-linked media and officials have long tried to paint a picture of the Khamenei family as pious, living a life devoid of the luxury and extravagance that seem to define their real-world investments.
Former supreme leader Ali Khamenei reportedly never took an international trip after he came to power in 1989. His son is known to have left the country, though the circumstances are often shrouded in secrecy.
"The fact that the new supreme leader is so wealthy and this is becoming widely known just shows how bankrupt that promise has become, and how hollow the regime's promise is these days," Conduit says.
From Emirate Hills to the Austrian Alps
In attempting to trace Khamenei's assets, investigators and journalists have repeatedly found that his name is not explicitly listed in official documents. In some cases, assets are owned by shell companies linked to another name that has drawn suspicion: Ali Ansari.
This includes prime real estate in expensive London neighbourhoods, a villa in Dubai's Emirates Hills (an affluent gated community), two upscale hotels in Frankfurt, the Steigenberger golf and spa resort in Mallorca, a ski and wellness resort in the Austrian Alps and a shopping centre in north-western Germany, according to reports by Bloomberg and the Financial Times.
Transparency International UK has identified more than £200 million ($378 million) worth of property in the United Kingdom bought by figures linked to the Iranian regime.
Experts say the regime's incentive for owning these assets is not just about living a luxurious life — it also represents a contingency plan.
"The economic stakeholders in the Iranian regime can continue to back the regime because they know that they've also got a plan B if that's what they want," Conduit says.
"Those economic stakeholders who support the regime are a key part of its ruling bargain. As long as they can continue to make money and benefit from the arrangement, then that keeps the regime strong.
"It helps the regime to survive because authoritarian regimes do not exist — cannot exist — without some level of support."
Who is Ali Ansari?
Ansari is an Iranian banker who was sanctioned by the UK government in October for his alleged "role in financially supporting the activities" of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which Australia considers a sponsor of terrorism.
His assets in the UK have been frozen, and Ansari and his lawyers have denied the allegation.
In a public statement, Ansari said he has "operated as an independent entrepreneur" and "categorically reject[s] all accusations that have been raised".
Anton Moiseienko is a senior lecturer in law at the Australian National University, whose work focuses on the legal and policy aspects of economic sanctions. He tells SBS News authoritarian regimes will often operate through proxy networks to hide their investments.
"[They have] proxies around the world, trying to ensure that it's more difficult for investigators and banks to make the connection between assets and the Iranian regime that's ultimately controlling them," he says.
"There are two parts to what they're doing … one is state activities, so making money for the government and, in the case of Iran, financing the various proxies that Iran has been supportive of.
The other aspect is corruption and personal self-enrichment. Property comes into the second part of the equation primarily.
According to reporting by the Financial Times, Ansari owns a St Kitts and Nevis holding company called Smart Global Limited, which owns some regime-linked assets through subsidiary companies in foreign countries.
According to the UK's sanctions entry, Ansari holds passports from his native Iran, as well as Cyprus and St Kitts and Nevis.
Passport-holders for St Kitts and Nevis, a dual-island nation situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, are entitled to visa-free travel across more than 150 countries and territories.
Other Iranian proxies have been flagged in other countries in recent years, too.
The US-based Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has previously warned that some foreign individuals have abused the nation's 'Citizenship by Investment' program to engage in illegal financial activity.
The Global Organised Crime Index also mentioned in 2023 that "state actors are actively involved in enabling money laundering in the country".
"A lot of them [proxies] are businesspeople who are motivated, perhaps to some extent ideologically, but also financially," Moiseienko says.
The other aspect is that for a long time, Iran has had strong business connections with countries in the Middle East where they would incorporate companies, and they would seek to use those jurisdictions in order to set up proxies that would operate around the world.
Ansari is known in Iran as a wealthy businessman, although the scale of his wealth is subject to speculation.
He was previously the principal shareholder of Iran's Ayandeh Bank, which was dissolved by the country's central bank due to accumulated losses and regulatory concerns. He also owns the Iran Mall in Tehran, considered one of the world's largest shopping centres.
Ansari is not sanctioned in Australia, nor has he been sanctioned by the European Union, despite a large bulk of his known assets being held in Europe.
Australian assets 'very possible'
The Iranian regime's circumvention of sanctions through proxies has been a concern for Australia in recent years.
In October 2025, the Australian Federal Police charged a western Sydney man for allegedly remitting money to Iranian banks in contravention of federal sanctions.
The man was a director of an Auburn-registered remittance company that allegedly processed 543 international currency transfers totalling $649,308 to sanctioned banks in Iran over a 12-month period.
The Iranian Australian diaspora has also long raised concerns about the possibility of the regime holding assets in Australia.
Rana Dadpour, a spokesperson for the Australian United Solidarity for Iran community group, says these concerns are now resurfacing with the appointment of Khamenei.
"There are many rumours turning around our community members, talking about IRGC members or their family members or people who are affiliated with IRGC or work with them, having assets, properties, and even businesses here in Australia," Dadpour tells SBS News.
"It is not something that is completely out of mind, and it is very possible that [Khamenei], himself or people who work for him or are supporters of him, have assets or properties here."
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) spokesperson tells SBS News that sanctions law is designed to prevent designated individuals or entities, such as the IRGC, from acquiring or benefiting from Australian-based assets.
"Further, Australian individuals and entities that hold an asset believed to be owned or controlled by a designated person or entity are obligated to freeze those assets and report them to the Australian Federal Police," the spokesperson says.
"In accordance with longstanding practice, we do not speculate on potential sanctions measures."
DFAT has imposed financial sanctions against 318 Iran-linked individuals and entities, in addition to sanctioning the IRGC.
Its status as a state sponsor of terrorism also makes it unlawful for Australian individuals or entities to engage with its members, accept funds from or offer any form of support to the group.
SBS News asked Transparency International Australia — the Australian chapter of a global anti-corruption non-profit — whether it had any knowledge of Iranian regime assets on Australian soil.
CEO Clancy Moore says the organisation doesn't know for certain "if there's any assets being parked in Australia, but there is a risk".
"There's always a risk of dirty money coming into our real estate sector," Moore says.
There's lots of evidence of other autocratic and kleptocratic regimes investing money into Australia.
"There's some serious weaknesses and gaps in our current safeguards against money laundering."
Arash Jafari is an Iranian Australian real estate agent in Sydney and the founder of Genesis Development Club, a propery development club. He agrees with Moore.
He says when customers buy a property under a trust, "due to privacy reasons", certain information about the property, including "who owns it, who's the beneficiary and who controls the asset" is not publicly available.
"There are so many ways to hide it if they are trying to do so … it's not public knowledge that you can go to a website, search it, and you can see who owns it."
Jafari adds that while he cannot confirm regime-affiliated people own any properties in the country, "Australia technically is a place to hide your assets ... for the people that have that intent".
"These people are everywhere. These people live between us in this community. And if you dig into their work situation, most of them just say, 'I'm self-employed. I'm a business owner.' What business? What exactly do you do?"
From July, Australia is expanding its money laundering laws, which require professions such as real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, conveyancers and high-value dealers to conduct customer due diligence and report suspicious interactions, in an effort to stamp out nefarious activity.
Brendan Thomas is the CEO of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), Australia's financial crime watchdog.
He explains that current safeguards "require banks and other regulated businesses to apply enhanced due diligence to higher risk customers and report suspicions of criminal activity to AUSTRAC".
"Higher risk customers include Iranian corporations and customers physically present in Iran," he says.
But the proposed changes will increase scrutiny of property transactions and help to bar sanctioned individuals or entities from investing in Australian assets, Thomas says.
"Real estate has been recognised as a key money laundering channel because it has sat outside [Australia's Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act] regime, limiting visibility of who is behind property transactions.
"Bringing real estate agents into the regime closes a key gap and strengthens safeguards against illicit and high‑risk investment in Australian assets."
'The original gangster'
Experts warn that there are other tools the Iranian regime may be using to evade sanctions, including cryptocurrency.
Earlier this month, Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, reported that "IRGC-linked addresses accounted for over half of all value received by Iranian entities" in 2025, noting that more than US$3 billion ($4.2 billion) in cryptocurrency had been transferred "to support regional militia networks, facilitate oil sales, and procure dual-use equipment".
Moiseienko says the reliance on cryptocurrency is twofold.
"What seems to be happening there is both an effort to try and convert some of the money generated through selling oil into cryptocurrency to basically hide it from any attempts to freeze that property and potentially take it away," he says.
But also, cryptocurrency is used in order to finance the operations of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other allies that Iran has been cultivating.
"I think that that's something that the Iranian regime seems to have discovered and really taken heart to over the past couple of years, and one might therefore expect the use of cryptocurrency to continue."
The Chainalysis report also shows that in February, when the US and Israel first launched joint strikes on Iran, crypto markets responded "with visible on-chain asset movements in near real time".
Selling oil through what’s known as the 'shadow fleet' is another traditionally opaque money laundering tactic that experts say the Iranian regime is using to circumvent sanctions.
The shadow fleet is a group of often older, uninsured oil tankers that deceptively ferry oil from sanctioned countries such as Iran and Russia to refineries that sell it on to third countries.
"A significant part of what the Iranian government has been engaged in is trying to sell oil in order to finance its operations," Moiseienko says.
"We often talk about the Russian shadow fleet, but the original gangster shadow fleet is actually the Iranian one that has been in operation for many years, trying to, again, operate through shell companies, operate through shipping lines that are happy to do business with the Iranian regime, often trying to find that cover of plausible deniability."
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