The US seeks to seize former Mongolian Prime Minister’s New York apartments. Prosecutors want to seize excellent real estate in midtown Manhattan valued $14 million (£11 million).
IN SHORT
US Seeks to Seize Former Mongolian Prime Minister’s Manhattan Apartments
- The US Department of Justice is seeking to seize two luxury Manhattan apartments owned by former Mongolian Prime Minister, Batbold, who purchased them with funds from a money laundering and corruption scheme.
- Catrison Limited, a Hong Kong-registered company, used the profits from a $68 million mining contract to buy copper concentrates from the Erdenet copper mine in Mongolia to purchase the apartments.
- The prosecutors accuse Batbold of “funnelling millions of dollars from mining contracts through illegitimate shell companies to finance his family’s lavish lifestyle”.
- Batbold has denied the accusations, stating he looks forward to his day in court.
- In 2021, lawmakers passed the Corporate Transparency Act to address the misuse of shell companies.
- The Treasury Department proposed a plan to curb the flow of illicit funds through American real estate markets.
- Batbold’s son listed as a co-owner of one property and used one of the apartments as his mailing address to open a U.S. bank account.
The US Department of Justice is seeking to seize two multimillion-dollar Manhattan apartments purchased by former Mongolian Prime Minister Nursultan Batbold, who was accused of using funds from a money laundering and corruption scheme. The apartments were purchased with profits from a $68 million mining contract awarded to Hong Kong-registered Catrison Limited in 2011 to buy copper concentrates from the Erdenet copper mine in Mongolia. Intermediaries controlled Batbold, a newly formed company with no prior mining experience. US federal prosecutors say he purchased two apartments near Central Park, one at The Carlton House, and a condo unit in The Park Imperial.
The US prosecutors allege that Batbold used his position as prime minister to award contracts to entities owned or controlled by his associates or his son, concealing that Batbold and his family violated Mongolian anti-corruption laws. In response to the complaint, Batbold’s lawyers said a separate civil case from 2020 held that he had no property in New York.
In 2021, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act to address the misuse of shell companies, requiring certain companies to disclose ownership information to a registry held by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury. In February, the Treasury Department proposed a plan to curb the flow of illicit funds through American real estate markets.
Prosecutors allege that shell companies connected to a board member of Catrison purchased properties in New York City, with Batbold’s son listed as a co-owner of one property and using one of the apartments as his mailing address to open a U.S. bank account. These transactions are under scrutiny for potential illicit financial activities.
Michael Nordwall, assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigative division, stated that while Batbold was prime minister of Mongolia, the defendant allegedly used corrupt funds and a sophisticated money laundering scheme to purchase two luxury New York apartments.