TV property developer who starred in Channel 4's 'Britain's Most Expensive Houses' is sued over 'pocketing £2.3million from wealthy businesswoman in luxury home rental scam'

By PATRICK HARRINGTON, UK NEWS REPORTER Published: 12:44, 17 April 2026 | Updated: 12:54, 17 April 2026 A TV property developer is being sued for allegedly pocketing £2.3million from a wealthy businesswoman in a luxury home rental scam. Kam Babaee, who starred in Channel 4's 'Britain's Most Expensive Houses', is accused of fleecing his client, Bita Daryabari, while managing an exclusive London apartment for her company, One Unique LLC. He is said to have lied about the amount of rent being collected from four tenants, who paid up to £1million a year, between 2020 to 2024, and skimmed off the difference. He denies the claims. Some of the money was allegedly funnelled on to his son, Ali Kian Shokrollah Babaee, and wife, Ana Totoc.  Lawyers for Ms Daryabari, 57, claim that Mr Babaee, 59, ran a 'fraudulent scheme by which [he]...misappropriated millions of pounds'. But the estate agent insists these were legitimate 'business expenses', and that the sums involved have been exaggerated. Now, One Unique LLC is suing Mr Babaee, several of his companies, plus his wife and son, in an attempt to recoup the funds. Mr Babaee unsuccessfully tried to get the case thrown out at London's High Court earlier this month. Mr Babaee, pictured here with his ex-wife Roya, insists any money he took was for legitimate business costs Bita Daryabari sent furious texts to Mr Babaee, in which she said he had 'ruined himself big time' In WhatsApp messages shown in court, Ms Daryabari told Mr Babaee he had 'ruined himself big time' with the alleged scam. She wrote: 'I am deeply disappointed, hurt, and angry at you for your dishonesty and betrayal how could you steal from me over the course of so many years?.....I am utterly disgusted by your behaviour... You ruined yourself big time.'      Lawyers for Ms Daryabari claim Mr Babaee 'doctored tenancy agreements and other documents' to make it look like less rent money was coming in. They allege that the family 'skimmed the difference between the monies they collected and the monies which they represented'. Ms Daryabari made a spreadsheet that is said to show the apartment was occupied by four tenants between September 2018 and June 2024, who paid rents of between £14,500 and £21,000. Outlining the lawsuit, Judge Nigel Bird said: 'The present pleaded case is that the claimant has lost £2,347,234 plus interest. It is said now that he is responsible for fraudulently taking in excess of £2m due to the claimant.'      Representing himself at the High Court hearing last month, Mr Babaee applied to have the claim struck out by arguing legal privilege should have been had applied to WhatsApp messages between himself and Ms Daryabari - meaning they should have been kept private.  He claimed the messages, in which he repeatedly asked to meet with Ms Daryabar, formed part of a confidential negotiation to settle the case and so could not be used as evidence at trial. TV property manager Kam Babaee is accused of skimming off more than £2million of rent money Left to right: Claire Caudwell (ex-wife of billionaire John Caudwell), Kam Babaee, his ex-wife Roya, and Denise Rich But that argument and his bid to strike out the claim was rejected by the judge. The judge said: 'Ms Daryabari was plainly persuaded that Kam Babaee had stolen from her, let her down and had abused her trust. It appears very clearly from the correspondence that Ms Daryabari was upset and in no mood to negotiate. 'She obviously wanted back what had been, in her mind, stolen from her. She wanted what was due to her, or owed to her. 'In my judgment, it is clear that the policy on which the privilege is set is not engaged. There was in my judgment no common negotiation.' He also rejected twin bids by Mr Babaee to stay the civil claim because he is currently bankrupt and facing criminal proceedings over the allegations, due to a private prosecution brought against him by Ms Daryabari. The judge noted that Mr Babaee expects to climb out of bankruptcy in May 2026. Mr Babaee was previously made bankrupt after a judge found he was 'hopelessly insolvent' and at least £8m in debt in February 2024, but that order was annulled in May 2024. At the time, he owed around £6m to a bank after defaulting on two mortgages taken out to fund one of his development projects. He also owed around £1.5m to his ex-wife Roya Namazi, £765,000 to nail technician to the stars Leighton Denny - against whom Mr Babaee lost a previous court fight - and around £96,000 to his former lawyers. Star nail technician Leighton Denny, whose clients have included Kate Moss, Penélope Cruz and Adele, beat Mr Babaee in a High Court fight in 2022. The dispute centred around the sale of a £1.2m newly-built home in Chiswick in 2015 by Mr Babaee's firm K10 Developments, which normally specialises in luxury refurbishments of London mansions. The house, built on land owned by Mr Babaee on the site of a former Ferrari showroom, suffered water damage that made one of its bedrooms unusable. Mr Denny began a claim against the developer and K10 in July 2019 and, in April 2022, was awarded £549,773.90 damages for the damp, plus £180,000 costs by Judge Richard Pearce. His debt to his ex-wife followed a divorce fight in September 2019 after their split in 2016. The developer - who has been pictured with former prime minister Boris Johnson and once played table tennis with him at his office - was found in contempt of court for failing to pay over £100,000 maintenance owed to his ex. 'The truth is the wife has always been at the bottom of the list of priorities,' the divorce judge Mr Justice Cohen said at the time. The full trial of One Unique's claim against Mr Babaee will be heard later this year. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.