January 23, 2018

Mapping out the long path of Trump's money laundering and corruption

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/1/21/1733280/-Mapping-out-the-long-path-of-Trump-s-money-laundering-and-corruption
"in 2011, the Trump Soho joint venture condo project by TrumpCo and Bayrock was sued for defrauding buyers with their inflated sales claims. The suit was settled with a payout of $3.19 million, and another potential criminal case was avoided. But then in 2013 things went wonky again as Russian mobsters renting property in Trump Tower just three floors below the penthouse suite were arrested for money laundering and running an illegal gambling ring at the end of a two-year investigation. Between 2011 and 2013 the Bureau had a warrant to spy on a high-level criminal Russian money-laundering ring, which operated in unit 63A of the iconic skyscraper — three floors below Mr Trump's penthouse. The investigation led to the indictment of more than 30 people, including alleged mafia boss Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, according to ABC News. … The suspected mobster – who is accused of moving $50m (£40m) in illegal money to the US – remains at large, even after Interpol issued a red notice for his detention. One of the attorneys for defendant Denys Katsyv of Prevezon Holdings Ltd. in a related $230 million Russian money laundering case was Natalia Veselnitskaya. The prosecutor was Preet Bharara. Some of the stolen money laundered through this ring was connected to Bill Browder’s investigation and the murder of Sergei Magnitsky in Russia, which spawned the Magnitsky Act. After Trump abruptly fired Bharara despite having promised to keep him, the suit was suddenly settled by the DOJ for just $6 million two days before it was scheduled to go to trial. Attorneys for Prevezon responded by saying the meager settlement was “almost an apology” by the DOJ for having brought the suit. Also in 2013, Trump setup his Miss Universe pageant in Moscow where Tokhtakhounov, the Russian mobster who was on the run from Interpol, was welcomed on the red carpet at the event."