素有“小莫斯科”雅號的佛羅里達州陽光島，其嶄新公寓之豪華奢侈，超出想象之外，從一層一戶，到私人室內泳池，到機器人拍車，目前正在動工的一座，其廣告是：全世界最豪華的公寓。

此島連綿數里的無敵海景超級豪華摩天大樓，雖然數百萬美元起價，依然是俄羅斯寡頭們的至愛，到處可以見到大復便便的俄羅斯婦女，在為她們即將到來的美國公民新生嬰兒而喜悅地遊蕩。這在當地，不算是奇景，乃司空見慣之事。

除了無敵海景超級豪華摩天大樓外，數十里長的超級豪宅，每家都有私人碼頭，停着豪華郵輪。川普的住宅，就是其一。

有旅遊公司開闢了一條郵輪，在來回四個小時的郵輪上，導遊逐一介紹每家豪宅的歷史典故，每當提到“不是俄羅斯寡頭，就是南美洲毒梟：時，遊客們都會哄堂大笑。

烏俄戰爭使美國司法部宣布，將重點清查該地的俄羅斯寡頭們洗錢活動，意料中事。

高勝寒 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