素有“小莫斯科”雅号的佛罗里达州阳光岛，其崭新公寓之豪华奢侈，超出想象之外，从一层一户，到私人室内泳池，到机器人拍车，目前正在动工的一座，其广告是：全世界最豪华的公寓。

此岛连绵数里的无敌海景超级豪华摩天大楼，虽然数百万美元起价，依然是俄罗斯寡头们的至爱，到处可以见到大复便便的俄罗斯妇女，在为她们即将到来的美国公民新生婴儿而喜悦地游荡。这在当地，不算是奇景，乃司空见惯之事。

除了无敌海景超级豪华摩天大楼外，数十里长的超级豪宅，每家都有私人码头，停着豪华邮轮。川普的住宅，就是其一。

有旅游公司开辟了一条邮轮，在来回四个小时的邮轮上，导游逐一介绍每家豪宅的历史典故，每当提到“不是俄罗斯寡头，就是南美洲毒枭：时，游客们都会哄堂大笑。

乌俄战争使美国司法部宣布，将重点清查该地的俄罗斯寡头们洗钱活动，意料中事。

高胜寒 2022年5月8日

www.gaoshenghan.com

Business Insider

Luxury real estate is ‘at the top of the list’ as the Justice Department investigates Russian money laundering, DOJ official says

htowey@insider.com (Hannah Towey) – 5-7-2022 4:16 PM

© Getty ImagesSunny Isles Beach in Florida is known as “Little Moscow.” Getty Images

• Luxury US real estate owned by Russian oligarchs is under scrutiny for money laundering. 

• Specifically “extremely expensive real estate in stable economies,” a DOJ official told CNN. 

• However, real estate needs to go through forfeiture litigation before the government can seize it, he noted.

Wealthy Russians have long invested in luxury real estate across the US, from high-end apartments in Florida to multi-million dollar townhomes in New York City.

Now, those assets are “at the top” of the Justice Department’s list as the US looks to crack down on Russian money laundering, according to Andrew Adams, the head of the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture task force.

“All sorts of assets are on the table, for sure. And bringing up real estate is particularly pertinent,” Adams told CNN in an interview published Friday. “The way in which much money laundering is occurring is through large, stable value assets. Real estate is at the top of the list for that kind of investigation.”

Money laundering investigators specifically look for “extremely expensive real estate in stable economies,” he told the outlet. 

Related video: How the DOJ Goes After Russian Oligarch Assets (Bloomberg)How the DOJ Goes After Russian Oligarch AssetsUnmute0

The Biden administration created the KleptoCapture task force “to hold accountable corrupt Russian oligarchs” following the invasion of Ukraine by seizing their US assets.

While luxury real estate remains a focus of the Justice Department, Adams noted that federal forfeiture law requires layers of litigation before the government can seize an individual’s private property. Last week, President Biden proposed a new White House plan that would expedite this legal process and allow the government to sell seized Russian assets to help fund Ukraine.

Compared to the rest of the world, US real estate is a steady, if not profitable, investment. But those characteristics also make it “perfect for illicit actors to hide their money,” Gary Kalman, executive director of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International, told Insider.

“I’m an anti-corruption guy, but I also believe in constitutional rights,” Kalman told Insider. “So we have a fourth amendment, you have due process and you gotta go through the courts to actually take somebody’s property.”Read the original article on Business Insider