Feds Look To Seize UES Apt From Former Mongolian Prime Minister: Suit
Federal officials say that the former Mongolian leader laundered proceeds from an unlawful mining contract via two pricy apartments. The Department of Justice is seeking to seize a pair of New York City apartment buildings purchased by former Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold, who allegedly used stolen mining money to purchase the homes for a total of $14 million in 2015 and 2012. The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of New New York and is part of a crackdown on money laundering in the high-end real estate market. While Batbold was prime minister, a corporate entity owned by him was awarded a $68 million mining contract in 2011 for copper concentrates from the Erdenet Mine, one of the largest copper and molybdenum mines in the world. Prosecutors allege that millions from the contract were diverted to various foreign bank accounts, with some of that money traced to the purchase of two multi-million dollar New York apartments. South Korean citizen Hak Seon Kim, the sole board member of Catrison, was also involved in the transactions. The federal filing is a civil case and does not charge Batbold with a crime.
Publié : il y a un mois par Peter Senzamici dans Politics
UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The Department of Justice is looking to forfeit a pair of New York City apartment buildings purchased by a former Mongolian Prime Minister who used stolen mining money to make the purchases, officials said Tuesday.
The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, claims that former Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold purchased the two home were purchased for a total of $14 million back in 2015 and 2012. One of the apartments, a $9.9 million unit, is on the Upper East Side, the suit states.
Officials noted that the suit is part of a crackdown on money laundering in the high-end real estate market. “As alleged, former Mongolian Prime Minister Batbold used the profits from his illicit corruption scheme to purchase high-end real estate in violation of United States federal law. Today’s forfeiture action sends a message that corrupt officials will not use our real estate market to conceal proceeds of crimes,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “My Office will not tolerate public corruption that undermines faith in government, wherever committed.”
While Batbold was prime minister, a corporate entity owned by him through intermediaries was awarded a $68 million mining contract in 2011, the suit states. The deal was to purchase copper concentrates from the Erdenet Mine, one of the largest copper and molybdenum mines in the world, according to the suit.
The entity, a Hong Kong-based entity called Catrison, had no history in mining or infrastructure to support such a deal, prosecutors said. Millions from the contract were then diverted to various foreign bank accounts, federal officials claim, with some of that money traced to the purchase of two multi-million dollar New York City apartments.
In 2012, a shell company controlled by a Catrison's sole board member — a South Korean citizen named Hak Seon Kim — purchased an apartment inside the Park Imperial building on West 56th St. for $3.9 million, the suit claims, with a detailed accounting of the various accounts used to move the money. Three years later in 2015, Kim and some of the same bank accounts were used to purchase a 12th floor apartment at The Carlton House at 21 East 61st St. for $9.9 million, according to prosecutors. According to Reuters, Batbold's lawyers claimed in a 2020 filing that he doesn't own any property in New York. But the suit claims that Batbold's son, Harvard Business School graduate Battushig, is listed in the Carlton House management records as a "co-owner" of the unit, in addition to the sole Catrison board member, Kim. The federal filing is a civil case and does not charge Batbold with a crime.
Les sujets: Cyber Crime