An agricultural trading company has agreed to forfeit more than $5.2 million (£3.84 million) following a UK National Crime Agency (NCA) civil recovery investigation into suspected money laundering and sanctions evasion. ENEX Premium Trading Limited, described as an independent company handling, transporting and financing grains, oilseeds and oilseed meals, agreed to the settlement after the NCA pursued funds connected to its UK accounts. The NCA said ENEX, which is owned by Nadir Valiyev and Azerbaijan National and registered to St Kitts and Nevis, transferred significant sums into recently opened UK accounts held by ENEX between July and September 2024. In opening the accounts, Valiyev told investigators that the source of the money was his personal wealth and retained earnings from previous trading structures, including a UAE-registered company. The NCA said allegations reported during 2024 claimed Valiyev’s companies were involved in the shipment of stolen Ukrainian grain. In November 2024, the NCA obtained an Account Freezing Order over funds in ENEX’s account. As part of its investigation, the NCA traced how frozen funds moved and identified a suspected network of front companies and bank accounts. The agency said transactions through UK electronic money institutions were used to convert funds into cryptocurrency. It added that the funds were traced to bank accounts in China held by ENEX that had received tens of millions of pounds from suspected front companies during the same July to September 2024 period. The NCA said the companies that paid into ENEX’s Chinese accounts have since been designated under US sanctions for involvement in facilitating illicit Iranian oil sales and sending funds to the Iranian QODS Force. Valiyev denied engaging in criminal activity, but agreed to forfeit the money. The NCA said the settlement agreement does not amount to an admission of unlawful conduct and is not evidence of criminal conduct. The case remains part of the NCA’s civil recovery work, aiming to identify and recover cash it believes is used in crime.