Iranian Regime-Linked Assets in Europe Face Scrutiny After Alleged Plot to Kill Jewish Leaders
An alleged Iran-backed plot against Jewish leaders in Germany is drawing new attention to regime-linked assets across Europe, including a property network tied to sanctioned banker Ali Aliakbar Ansari
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German federal prosecutors announced on May 21, 2026, that they had indicted Danish national Ali S. and Afghan national Tawab M. over an alleged Iranian-directed plot to prepare attacks on Jewish targets in Germany. The indictment, filed at the State Security Senate of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg on May 7, charges Ali S. with acting for an intelligence service, sabotage-related agent activity, and attempted participation in the crimes of murder and aggravated arson.
The alleged targets in what prosecutors described as preparation for assassination and arson attacks on German soil directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) included Volker Beck, chairman of the German-Israeli Society, Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and two unidentified Jewish grocers in Berlin.
The case comes amid separate scrutiny of Iranian regime-linked assets in Europe. the The Financial Times reported that sanctioned Iranian banker Ali Aliakbar Ansari built a European property portfolio worth about €400 million through offshore companies and corporate structures across several jurisdictions. Furthermore, Bloomberg reporting and other investigations have alleged that Ansari served as a key facilitator in a wider overseas property network connected to Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s current Supreme Leader.
The Assassination Plot
Ali S., the Danish suspect, allegedly worked for the intelligence service of IRGC with close contact to the Quds Force special unit, according to prosecutors. He was tasked in early 2025 with gathering information on Schuster and Beck, as well as two unidentified Jewish grocers in Berlin. He scouted locations in Berlin and sought accomplices for attacks, prosecutors stated.
By May 2025, Ali S. was in contact with Tawab M., the Afghan suspect, who allegedly agreed to procure a weapon for an unidentified third person to attempt killing Beck. German and Danish authorities arrested Ali S. in Denmark in June 2025, with Tawab M. arrested in November 2025. Federal prosecutors filed the indictment at Hamburg state court on May 7, 2026.
Beck Demands Action on Regime Assets
Beck, whom German prosecutors identified as one of the alleged targets, called for Germany to act against Iranian regime-linked assets discovered in the country. Beck has made public statements demanding Germany act against Khamenei family wealth parked in German properties and banks.
The Financial Network Under Scrutiny
The UK government sanctioned Ali Ansari in October 2025, freezing over 150 million pounds in London assets for “financially enabling the work of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.” Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer described Ansari as a “corrupt Iranian banker and businessman” whose actions support IRGC operations including threats carried out in the UK.
Financial Times investigations identified Ansari’s European property empire through corporate filings across multiple jurisdictions. The portfolio includes two Hilton hotels in Frankfurt, each valued at approximately 80 million euros by their holding companies, the Steigenberger golf and spa resort in Camp de Mar, Mallorca, valued at 22 million euros, and the Bero shopping center in Oberhausen valued at 68 million euros.
Ansari also owns a stake in the Schlosshotel Kitzbühel luxury ski resort in Austria. Most properties are controlled through shell companies in Luxembourg, St Kitts and Nevis, and other offshore jurisdictions, with corporate filings ultimately naming Ansari as the beneficial owner.
The Khamenei Connection
A 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable later published by WikiLeaks, based on claims from Iranian expatriate broadcaster Ali Reza Nourizadeh, alleged that Mojtaba Khamenei underwent fertility-related treatment during repeated visits to London, including at Wellington and Cromwell Hospitals. The Jerusalem Post has reported that the documents indicate Mojtaba and Zahra Haddad Adel traveled to London four times, likely between 1998 and 2007.
Ansari’s father was also appointed by the elder Khamenei to serve on a postwar reconstruction committee following the Iran-Iraq War.
The indictment is now pending before the State Security Senate of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg, where the two defendants are expected to face trial if the court admits the charges.