On a salary of just $70,650 in 2008, Hajiyev had amassed himself "four mansions in the English countryside, a $42.5 million Gulfstream jet, a $13 million golf club outside London and a villa in Sardinia," according to Bloomberg. His wife dropped $20 million on diamonds and designer handbags as he borrowed, in addition to looting the bank, to support his lifestyle. 

It was in 2015 when reality started to hit. The directors of Hajiyev's company, Lumea 2014 PTC, set up to control his assets, realized that creditors were circling while its cash balances were dwindling. 

On his board were two attorneys with Dentons, the world's biggest law firm. One of those directors advised the others in 2015 that Hajiyev was "in the middle of reorganizing his personal wealth and finances, which has restricted cash flows" and that the process "should be completed within the next 60 days, when liquidity issues should be resolved."