This raises real questions as to where the money came from to buy the properties and what checks were done. The UK authorities need to work out who owns these properties and where the money came from, and the laws need changing so that this kind of cash is no longer hidden behind a wall of secret companies. Rather, it sits next to Baker Street. The real Baker Street is part of a larger block of commercial and residential properties that spans from to Baker Street.
The investigation document from Global Witness says, "It is owned by a portfolio of companies that are ultimately and anonymously owned by a company called BVI.
By tracing links between these companies and companies known to be owned or directed by Rakhat Aliyev and his son Nurali Aliyev, Global Witness has pieced together evidence that suggests that someone close to Rakhat Aliyev was the true owner of BVI that controls this big chunk of Baker Street.
The network of companies in question was put together like this: Between and four different UK companies — all controlled by the same BVI company acquired a collection of leasehold and freehold properties between and Baker Street, two properties near Hyde Park and a mansion in Highgate, London.
Editions Quartz. More from Quartz About Quartz. Follow Quartz. These are some of our most ambitious editorial projects. By Max de Haldevang Geopolitics reporter. Published April 5, Last updated on April 9, This article is more than 2 years old. Until , the UK-based Baker St holding firms listed p.
The parent company would often change year on year. In April , a firm registered in the UAE took control. Nurali is linked to companies in at least three jurisdictions with the moniker, and was named president of one of them, according to Global Witness. Each company involves Kurmanbayev. Geneva-based Greatex Suisse was registered in and listed Nurali as president and Kurmanbayev as a director from , according to Global Witness.
UK-registered Greatex Ltd was one of the companies buying up Baker Street properties in , with Kurmanbayev again director. But while the flat includes many recognizable Holmesian artifacts and ephemera, certain inferences must be made to complete the fictional Victorian setting. The pipe and magnifying glass, the many newspapers and books and test tubes — these things are an index of the life of Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, when it comes to the mystery of B Baker Street, there are as many deductions as there are detectives.
It is still possible in fact to see the entrance, which now forms part of the wall of the bank in Craven Passage. With Charing Cross Station immediately beside the pub, one can just imagine the duo dashing off to catch a train into the countryside on one of their hair raising adventures!
Just as the adventures of Holmes and Watson sometimes took them out of London to exotic locales around the world, the same holds true for their surprisingly mobile flat. The Meiringen Museum claims to have the largest collection of Holmes ephemera, as well as the most accurate reproduction of the famed sitting room, reconstructed by Tony Howlett, former President of the Sherlock Holmes Society of London, and architect John Reid.
Its windows are authentic to the era, made in London and shipped to Switzerland; the wallpaper is designed after an s pattern and was bought on High Street in London; the fireplace, oil lamps, and other Holmesian paraphernalia are all authentic Victorian antiques.
It seems as if pipe smoke should still be lingering in the air. Looking at the scattered newspapers, books, and teacups, one can imagine the detective springing up from his chair, hot on the heels of a suspect or following a new lead. The carefully curated disarray suggests an unknown narrative, a new mystery for readers to imagine. There are surely many other partially reconstructed Bs in the homes of private collectors around the world. Architecture and interior spaces are records of our lives; they are extensions of our own identities.
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