“Miami is ours”: why Russian businessmen and bandits settle in Trump towers

In Sunny Isles Beach, the proportion of people who consider Russian as their main language is already about 7%. Photo

The mortgage crisis of 2008-2009 did not affect Trump's development projects due to the fact that the developers managed to find a saving layer of clients - rich Russians who were trying to bring their money abroad.

Donald Trump's three high-rise condos at Sunny Isles Beach occupy a large part of the Russian Riviera in Miami. It is hardly a coincidence. Many local companies that specialize in selling real estate in Trump's condominiums relied almost exclusively on Russian buyers in their marketing materials. As a result, the complex Trump Tower Sunny Isles became home to many Russians, including several organized crime leaders, famous fraudsters, insurance scams and even members of the Russian mafia.

Poker Mafia

In 2013, the FBI launched an international underground gang of the Russian gambling mafia, which the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office called the “Taiwanchink-Trincher” organization, referring to the famous poker player, a native of Russia, Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, a Russian businessman. According to US law enforcement, the group held an international sports betting, serving mainly oligarchs living in Russia and Ukraine, as well as around the world. The "business centers" of the gambling mafia were Kiev, Los Angeles, Moscow and New York.

The headquarters of her served as a fashionable apartment Vadim Trincher in New York Trump Tower. That same apartment for $ 6 million is one of the most luxurious in the whole building. His neighbor on top was Donald Trump himself.

As a result of these arrests, the US Department of Justice announced its intention to confiscate the property of members of the group in New York and Miami. It was about two penthouses in New York Trump Towerowned by the Vadim Trincher family, and another two condominium apartments Trump Tower I in Miami at: 16001 Collins Ave Unit 806 and Unit 1206. According to the register of owners of real estate district Miami dade, one of the key leaders of the structure, Anatoly Golubchik, became the owner of the property at 16001 Collins Ave Unit 806 - at the beginning of 2010. However, the fact of confiscation raises doubts, since according to the records of the same registry, in March 2016 Golubchik issued a deed of gift to his wife Elena Golubchik. Apartment No. 1206 belongs to 68-year-old Michael Sall, who was sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and 3 years of supervision in the same gambling mafia case. According to the property registry, Sall is also still listed as the owner of the apartment.

As it was possible to find out to the American law enforcement agencies, the “enterprise” not only served oligarchs and stars of show business, but also dealt with money laundering. Anatoly Golubchik was responsible for this direction. He returned the money to the United States already clean through Ukraine, one-day companies in the offshore zones of the United States and Cyprus offshore. According to the indictment, the groups managed to launder at least $ 100 million.

After being arrested in 2013, Golubik was theoretically threatened from 90 to 115 years in prison, but he got off with a shorter term thanks to a plea bargain with the aim of extortion and links with the Russian-American criminal gang. . According to the deal, he also pledged to give state cash and real estate worth $ 20 million. Dude and Trincher were sentenced to 5 years in prison.

64-year-old Russian Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov, whom the Manhattan prosecutor's office considers to be the head of the group, feels safe because his country does not extradite its citizens abroad for the commission of the court.

In Interpol and the FBI, he is on the list of most wanted criminals. In the United States, Tokhtakhounov is also accused of attempting to bribe figure skating judges at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics 2002. Despite this, through the 7 months, Tokhtakhunov appeared as a VIP guest on the red carpet of the Miss Universe contest, which was then organized by Donald Trump.

Rostov crime

The name of the Rostov authority of Vladimir Popovyan, a close friend of Rafael Samurgashev, who is called by the Rostov media as the likely leader of the so-called wrestling gang of Rostov-on-Don, is well known to most citizens. According to local media, Rafael Samurgashev and Vladimir Popovyan decided to move to Miami after criminal fights in December 2010.

According to the register of owners of Miami Dade County real estate, Popovyan became the owner of an apartment with a total area of ​​approximately 184 square meters. m in condominium Trump Tower II at 15901 Collins Ave Unit 1102 - in 2013. The transaction amount was $1. In January 170, Popovyan entered into a donation agreement with the company Trump Casa 1102 LLC, as a result of which the apartment passed into the possession of the latter. According to the State Department of Florida State Corporation, Trump Casa 1102 LLC was registered a few days before, presumably for a specific transaction. According to the same department, the president and sole owner Trump Casa 1102, LLC is Yana Mishieva — an 27-year-old Rostovite and, presumably, a daughter of Vladimir Popovyan.

On her social media pages, she publishes numerous family photos with her parents, one of whom congratulates them on their silver wedding anniversary. The photo shows Vladimir Popovyan with his wife Anna Popovyan.

Mikhail Kayfits, a well-known lawyer from Miami of Russian origin, turned out to be Mishieva’s registered agent in certain circles. The Florida Register of Legal Entities has more than 100 companies registered in the name of Keifitz. Most of them are related to the Russian business. In the long list of his clients can be found the name of Felix Sutter, known as the son of Michael Sutter, aka Mikhail Sheferovsky. Sheferovsky was a prominent figure in Russian-speaking organized crime in New York in 1980-1990 and, according to media reports, was famous for his ties to the Italian mafia. His son Felix in the States is known as a stock exchange swindler and informant of the CIA.

As reported by the newspaper The New York Times, Sutter began his career as a stockbroker, but in 1993 he was jailed for a bar fight. Perhaps it was then, in prison, that he established connections with the mafia and the CIA. On another occasion, Sutter was spotted attempting to purchase Russian anti-aircraft missiles in a Central Asian country, and in 1998 he was arrested for conspiring with the Italian mafia to commit stock fraud and money laundering. Sutter got into development in the early 2000s, first as part of the company’s management Bayrock group, and since 2008, thanks to my acquaintance with Sergey Polonsky and Maxim Temnikov, they are part of the management Mirax Group.

At the beginning of 2000's development company Bayrockwhich Sutter controlled with business partner Tofig Arifov, organized a joint business with Donald Trump. Bayrock group agreed with Trump, that will build buildings, bearing his name throughout America, as well as in the countries of the former USSR. Bayrock group received a building permit from Trump Trump Tower in Moscow, but the deal fell through. From the moment of the collapse of the USSR and up to 2013, Trump repeatedly tried to agree with Russian developers on the construction of an analogue of the New York Trump Tower in Moscow, but every time without success.

Of the more well-known clients of Kaifits, we can name Maxim Temnikov himself. Company Fisher MB LLC was founded by Keyfitz in 2007. According to the Florida Department of State Corporations, its owners are Maxim Temnikov and his wife Elena Temnikova. Through this company, the Temnikovs and Felix Sutter owned joint real estate at 7436 FIsher Island Dr, Unit 7436 - worth $4,8 million, according to the county real estate registry. Miami dade, partners acquired joint property in 2007 year. In October, 2015, the apartments were sold for $ 5,05 million company FI Realty Corp. On the same island at Fisher Island Dr 5311, Maxim Temnikov’s wife owns another luxury property with a total area of ​​almost 640 square meters. m worth $5,1 million.

Private island Fisher Island It is considered one of the most fashionable places in South Florida, where the richest and most famous personalities have their residences and villas, including Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Ricky Martin, Madonna, Julia Roberts and others. Local real estate agencies call the island “a real paradise on earth. "

By decision of the Tverskoy Court of Moscow, Maxim Temnikov has now been put on the international wanted list in a criminal case on embezzlement (over 2,6 billion rubles) of real estate investors in the Kutuzov Mile and Rublevskaya Riviera residential complexes. He was charged under the article “On fraud on a large scale committed by a group of persons” (part 4 art. 159 CC).

Insurance scams

In the same condominium lives a native of Russia, Mikhail Barukhin, also known as Mike Bee, or Barkin, one of the defendants of the largest fraud in the history of New York related to insurance fraud, organized by immigrants from Russia and Ukraine. In February, the FBI 2012 arrested all members of a criminal gang that, using fraudulent auto insurance schemes, stole over $ 279 million from private companies. The indictment in this case called the main organizers of the scam native of Ukraine, Mikhail Zemlyansky nicknamed Russian Mike, whom the court sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment and payment of $ 29,5 million to the victims. Barukhin himself was sentenced to 40 months in prison.

According to court records, in April of this year, he was released under police supervision and currently lives at: 15901 Collins Avenue Unit 2903.

According to the register of owners of real estate district Miami dade the apartment is owned by a commercial structure 2903 MC LLC, registered to a certain Martha Fernandez, a realtor from Miami. According to Florida Department of Corporations records, in March 2016, just a few days apart, two companies were registered at 15901 Collins Avenue Unit 2903: SRB Marketing Inc (the founder and president is Inna Barukhina) and Sem plus inc (founder and president is Semen Barukhin).

Not only crime

Not only criminal authorities, swindlers and scammers seek to live beautifully, but also businessmen, top managers and politicians. The closest neighbors of Russian criminal elements include relatives of the deputy, chairman of the transport and communications commission of the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma Alexei Goikhman.

In the company 2013 Argo Family LLC I bought an apartment in Miami at: 15901 Collins Ave Unit 2606. The amount of the transaction was $ 1,51 million. According to the State Department of Corporations of the State of Florida Agro Family LLC Registered 14 May 2013. The management of the company includes: Sofia Kushner (a realtor from Miami, born in Nizhny Novgorod) - registration agent and Julia Goykhman - managing director, apparently related to Alexey Goikhman. According to the constituent document, until the 2015 of the year, the management of the company included Elvira Goikhman, the spouse of Alexey Goikhman.

In addition, according to SPARK-Interfax, Yulia Goykhman owns a stake (35%) in the share capital of ST Nizhegorodets, LLC, in which deputy Alexey Goykhman owns 20% of share capital.

Former head of Rosaviation, Yevgeny Bachurin, one of the first owners of real estate in a condominium Trump Tower Ii. According to the records of the register of real estate district Miami dadeThe company TDR Tower II NO 4101 LLCThe founder of which, according to the State Department of Corporations of the State of Florida, along with Yulia Grechushkina is Yevgeny Bachurin, signed the sales contract in 2008 year (the same year the tower was commissioned). At that time, Yulia Grechushkina held the post of deputy Bachurin in Rosaviation. The transaction amount was $ 2 302 900. Currently, Bachurin holds the post of advisor to the general director of the State Transport Leasing Company (GTLK).

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transoil LLC (St. Petersburg private transport company that organizes the transportation of Rosneft and Gazpromneft; controlled by Gennady Timchenko) and Stroytransgaz JSC Igor Valeryevich Romashov was one of the first to acquire real estate in Trump Tower. In 2006, Romashov was the head of the Federal Agency for Railway Transport, and from 2008 to 2011 he served as Rosneft’s vice president for transport, until he was removed “due to the situation in the fuel market in a number of regions of the company’s operation.” According to real estate registry data, Romashov purchased property at 16001 Collins Ave Unit 2905 in 2010 for $649 thousand, and in the spring of 2015 he issued a deed of gift to Maria Romashova, presumably a realtor from Miami. Her full namesake is registered at the same address.

Alexander Panarin, head of the field development department of Gazprom Neft Shelf LLC, and his wife Marina Gennadievna Panarina, until last year, also owned apartments in the same house at 16001 Collins Ave Unit 1103 (Trump Tower I). According to the register of owners of real estate district Miami Dade, the couple bought an apartment in 2013 for $ 958 thousand, and in March 2015 sold for $ 1,35 million.

The former chairman of the board of the National Corporate Bank and part-time collector of antique cash registers Maxim Voronin (Voronin - members of the American Club of Old Box Office collectors) also looked closely at the new building in the condominium TDR Tower III Condo at: 15811 Collins Ave Unit 2302. The apartment has a total area of ​​183 square. m cost the Russian banker $ 1,2 million. According to the register of property owners, Voronin donated an apartment to his wife Milena Voronina in February of this year. Recall that in March 2016, the Central Bank revoked the license from the National Bank due to inadequate risk assessment and money laundering. Maxim Voronin with his father Gennady Voronin (chairman of Rosstandart from 1997 to 2001 a year) together owned 59,6% of the shares of National Bank Corp..

According to the county property registry entries Miami dade, former vice president and general director of the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Combine, Igor Anisimov, through the Florida commercial structure Vladinvest Incwhich president is, owns at once three apartments in Miami in the total cost of $ 7 457 000. In condominium Trump Tower II companies Vladinvest Inc I own two apartments at once. The company purchased the first at 15811 Collins Ave Unit 2701 in 2011 for $1, the second (675 Collins Ave. 000) a year later for $15901 million. Another luxury apartment was purchased in 3006. The transaction amount was $1,3 million. The apartment with a total area of ​​almost 2012 sq. m. m with 4,5 bathrooms, 300 bedrooms and a living room is located in a luxury condominium Bal Harbour on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean at: 9705 Collins Ave Unit 1502N.

Igor Anisimov served as vice president of NLMK from 2010 to 2013. At the moment, he is looking for the Interior Ministry on charges of a criminal offense.

How to settle on the "Russian Riviera"

If you look closely at the details of buying expensive real estate in Miami with development companies associated with Donald Trump, you will notice a number of patterns.

First, a significant number of transactions go through the same realtors, who come from Russia or have Soviet roots. Buying through their own is one of the principles that many Russians are guided by. For a little over 400 000, Miami’s population accounts for more than a dozen Russian-speaking real estate agencies and as many law firms. Held Russian buyers recommend acquaintances to "reliable" Russian-speaking realtors who helped them choose housing, and those recommend places for compact settlement of immigrants from Russia. This explains the concentration of wealthy buyers from Russia in the same houses. For example, in Sunny Isles Beach, the proportion of people who consider Russian their main language is already about 7%.

Secondly, the acquisition of elite real estate, which over the years grows in price, is an extremely profitable strategy for a potential investor. In 2015 alone, the average cost of housing in Miami increased by 6,8%. And despite the fall in demand for housing in Miami in 2016, the elite real estate market has great growth prospects.

Third, at least 13 persons owning apartments in Trump towers, personally or through their companies, were involved in criminal and corruption schemes, were wanted or were involved in money laundering. The most interesting thing is that it is not only the Russians mentioned by us or the natives of other post-Soviet countries, Duchess, Trincher and Anisimov.

Among the owners of Trampian condominiums, you can find the names of people from South America involved in large-scale corruption scandals: Mauro Louise Suaro Zampronio, whose name has surfaced in connection with money laundering and corruption in Brazil, Rafael Olvera Amezkua, a Mexican financier who was accused of stealing in Brazil $ 184 million, Roberto Rincon, a Venezuelan businessman who participated in the development of contracts from the state-owned company PDVSA and was found guilty of tax evasion and bribes for receiving government contracts.

In order for the money stolen and extracted from corruption transactions to return to official circulation, another action is necessary - legalization.

Laundering as the main cause

Money laundering through the acquisition of luxury real estate - one of the most common forms of legalization of money, derived from the official turnover. US law requires individuals who are professionally involved in real estate transactions to check the source of funds of their clients for possible money laundering or getting them in corruption without fail.

However, in practice, it is extremely difficult to prove the participation of a realtor in money laundering through the provision of property acquisition services. There are no formal requirements for methods of detailed verification of the source of funds of American realtors. If we take into account the interest of the realtor in obtaining a percentage of a multi-million dollar deal, we can assume which side will be the intermediary.

Often, realtors resort to techniques that allow them to bypass the requirements for verifying the source of funds from the buyer of elite real estate. One of the most common ways to conceal the ultimate owner of the property is the design luxury- apartments on a one-day company registered in a jurisdiction that does not disclose information about its owners. Often one-day prescriptions are prescribed without going outside the United States. Thus, companies from the state of Delaware regularly appear in public registers of Miami real estate, which does not allow to establish their real owners, and therefore the actual owner of the property.

The identity of the buyer is obliged to certify only banks that provide mortgage loans, and buyers who acquire real estate without attracting a mortgage, can preserve anonymity through real estate registration at one-day companies, relatives or lawyers. More than 60% of elite condominium owners in 3 skyscrapers built by Donald Trump are companies that do not disclose the names of their owners.

We were unable to find evidence that Trump’s companies had committed any illegal actions. However, the weak regulation of the acquisition of luxury real estate and the possibility of hiding the final beneficiaries of commercial companies and owners of luxury housing create a favorable environment for using the US real estate market to launder money from around the world.

"Little Moscow"

In Miami, an area known as “Little Moscow” was formed in 1990 (as locals called Sunny Isles Beach, where the first Russians bought apartments), which is famous for its fashionable shopping centers and luxury housing. The Trump logo flaunts on 6 lined-up condominiums on Collins Avenue along the Atlantic Ocean.

Russians especially like to settle in them. According to local brokers, Russian investors are attracted to Trump's real estate quality and brand, for which they are willing to pay good money.

In addition to the skyscrapers in Little Moscow, Russian investors turned out to be a valuable source of financing for the Trump tower in the neighboring city of Hollywood, Florida. Luxury condominium Trump Hollywood - This is a luxurious 40-storey glass tower located on the Golden Coast of South Florida. The complex accommodates 200 residences ranging in size from 192 to 472 square. m and xnumx penthouse.

Donald Trump does not own this building: as in many other projects, he sold the license to use his name to the developer (in this case he received a license Related Group - One of the largest development companies in the United States, owned by a billionaire and Trump's longtime friend George Perez, and receives a percentage of the revenue from the initial sale of apartments. Two other towers, Trump Palace (Trump Palace) and Trump Royal (Trump Royal) in Sunny Isles Beach, also belong to Perez.

Russian investors have invested a lot in the project Trump Hollywood. Completed in 2009, the project was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the collapse of the real estate market, but with the advent of new customers, sales went uphill. As the newspaper wrote The Washington Postboth penthouses in Trump Hollywood Russians have acquired.

Eli Jabrailov

Penthouse on the first line of the ocean bought in November 2011, for $ 6 070 000 a certain Elena Gorlova. As reported on the US real estate website Zillow, penthouse with a total area of ​​829 square. m consists of 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, terraces with panoramic views of the ocean, access to a private elevator, and is also equipped with a system of "smart home". Now Gorlovoy penthouse is offered for sale, its value has grown to $ 9 995 000.

The Washington Post also reported that in 2011, one of the buyers of penthouses invited renowned interior designer Steven Gurovitz and a real estate agent from Miami Monica Gorban to Moscow to discuss plans for decorating the penthouse.

Neither Hurowitz nor Gorban had any idea who their client was or what kind of business he was involved in, but they described how they were met in Moscow, placed at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and driven in an armored Mercedes-Benz to the client's territory in the Moscow region. “You never know what kind of business they're in,” Gorban says. “All I knew was that the payment went through and the transaction was completed.” Gurowitz and Gorban also said that their client bought a penthouse and a second apartment in the same building, the publication reports.

According to the records of the register of owners of Broward County real estate, the penthouse was bought on the same day when another Russian businessman, Eli Alievich Dzhabrailov, bought an apartment in the same residential complex for $ 1 481 000. In the sale and purchase documents, both Gorlov and Dzhabrailov indicate the same postal address in a suburban area called North Miami: 17038 Dixie Highway 200. In addition, according to the records of the state portal of Broward County, when making a mortgage loan in a bank Bofi Federal Bank Gorlova indicates the Moscow address on Mozhaisk Highway, which, according to the Unified State Register of Real Estate, belongs to Eli Dzhabrailov. As it was found out, Eli Alievich Dzhabrailov is the elder brother of a Russian entrepreneur, a former presidential candidate in the presidential elections in Russia in 2000, and the former senator from the Chechen Republic, Umar Alievich Dzhabrailov.

Pavel Uglanov

It is in the condominium Trump Hollywood settled by the famous Saratov entrepreneur Pavel Uglanov, who in 2010-2011 worked as the first deputy minister of industry and energy of the Saratov region. As local media reported, there was some agreement between Uglanov and the previous Saratov governor Pavel Ipatov about the ministerial seat. However, the agreement was not implemented: the Minister Uglanov never became. He moved to Miami, where he also went into business.

The apartment at 2711 S Ocean Drive Unit 3704 - worth $1 was purchased in 815, and 986 years later Uglanov sold it for $2012. In Miami, Uglanov opened a gas station Niko Petroleum (under the single brand “NIKO”, 29 gas stations are operated in the territory of Saratov and the Saratov region), but the business was unsuccessful, and Uglanov sold it.

The Florida Register of Legal Entities has 9 commercial structures registered in the name of Pavel Uglanov and his former spouse (the couple broke up after moving to Miami) Anastasia Uglanova. For example, in the registration data of the company UPN LLC Pavel Uglanov specifies the postal address: 18925 Atlantic Blvd). This is a private 3-storey house with a total area of ​​290 square. M. Uglanov bought it in 2015 for $ 1 430 000, and a year later he sold it, rescuing $ 1,6 million.

Legal address of companies Nico Express LLC and Floridian Sun LLC, as well as the address of registration of its founders Anastasia and Pavel Uglanovs is listed: 10270 Sweet Bay Street Plantation.

Pavel Nikolaevich Uglanov became the owner of this private house with 6 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms with a total area of ​​449 square. m at the end of the year 2014. The transaction amount was $ 1 780 000. After 2, he sold this property for $ 1 950 000.

Vadim Gataullin

The son of the ex-deputy prosecutor of Bashkortostan and the ex-deputy of the parliament of the Republic of Bashkortostan from the Communist Party faction Vadim Gataullin bought a luxury apartment with 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms with a total area of ​​434 square. m in a skyscraper with the logo of the president Trump was worth a deputy mandate and $ 3 445 000.

Gataullin was one of the first Russian investors. Trump Hollywood - he purchased it in 2009 year. An ex-deputy sold the apartment last year for $ 4 100 000. But this is not the only real estate Vadim Gataullina Trump Hollywood - in 2012 year through commercial structure VVG Real Estate Investments LLC Gataullin bought a second apartment worth $ 920 thousand, and a few months later sold it for $ 1 100 000.

According to the records of the register owners of the Broward County real estate, from 2013 to 2016 year company VVG Real Estate Investments LLC purchased several land plots on the first line of the Atlantic Ocean, 2 plot on the yacht pier Ocean drive hollywood and a small coastal hotel Neptun Hollywood Beach Hotel at 310 McKinley Street. Total former deputy spent on property in the city of Hollywood $ 30 759 000.

In the official information about the income Gataullin did not reflect the data on American real estate. Appeared in the press information that he has foreign real estate and US citizenship, the deputy called "launched against him discredit campaign." However, in the 2015 year, Gataullin voluntarily surrendered his deputy’s mandate, writing a statement on early resignation.

Vadim Gataullin is considered one of the richest people in Bashkortostan. Having filed an income statement for 2013 year, he entered the top 50 ranking of the most wealthy Russian officials according to Forbes With more than 227 million rubles. According to local media, under its full control is the investment and construction corporation "StroyFederatsiya" - one of the key developers of Ufa. Gataullin also owns the Ecoline company (engaged in the production of clothing) and more than a dozen companies that manage office and commercial real estate in Ufa.

But in their homeland, the communist millionaire is better known for raider operations, the nature of which is more like an organized criminal group, write “New Vedomosti”. According to the newspaper, legal support of the raider operations of Gataullin is carried out by the son of the Chairman of the Soviet District Court of Ufa Azat Mullanurov Aidar Mullurov through LLC “Barrister Court Agency”. This aspect of Mullanurov Jr. is not a secret: on the website of the Barrister agency, among the company's clients are listed Bashkir Brick, StroyFederatsiya and Ecoline. “New Vedomosti” reports that deputy protection of the Bashkortostan, journalist Ildar Isangulov provides parliamentary protection and public relations support. On the municipal television channel "All Ufa" Isangulov leads the telecast "Inquiry".

Alexey Ustaev

According to the register of property owners Miami dadethe most expensive apartments in Trump royale belong to another Petersburg businessman Alexey Ustaev and his wife Galina. The apartment has a total area of ​​617 square. m with 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and a living room was purchased in 2011 year and cost Russian businessman $ 5 200 000. The couple owns another apartment on the Atlantic coast, but in another condominium decorated with the Trump logo - Trump Palace. This apartment is not as big as the first, just 147 square. m, but it cost $ 1 176 000.

Ustaev claims that he bought apartments in Miami for personal purposes. “I live in Russia, work in Russia and travel abroad only in the interests of business or on vacation,” the businessman replied in a written comment to the agency Reuters.

Alexey Ustaev has been holding the post of Chairman of the Board of Viking Bank in St. Petersburg since 1991. Since 1990's, he is also known as a co-owner of many facilities in St. Petersburg: he owns a stake in the Bolshoy Gostiny Dvor, the Oktyabrskaya, St. Petersburg and Olgino hotels, as well as a number of commercial premises in different parts of the city. In 1994, the Bolshoy Gostiny Dvor passed to the management of the OJSC “Big Gostiny Dvor”, 25% of shares of which belong to Alexey Ustaev, and 32,5% of shares - to structures of businessman Konstantin Mirilashvili.

This is the brother of entrepreneur Mikhail Mirilashvili, who is called by the media as one of the most famous “authoritative entrepreneurs” of St. Petersburg. In 2003, Mikhail Mirilashvili was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment with a sentence served in a strict regime colony (later reduced to 8 years) for the abduction and murder of two immigrants from Georgia. After complaining to the European Court of Human Rights, Mirilashvili was released in 2009.

Alexey Ustaev himself first appeared at the center of criminal history in 2005. The Main Investigation Department of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of St. Petersburg opened a criminal case against Ustayev regarding 2 article 199 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “tax evasion on a particularly large scale by a group of persons by prior agreement”. According to investigators, over the past 5 years under the guise of "payment for services" Ustayev brought 75 million rubles through Cyprus offshore companies.

The case was entrusted to the eighth section of the Main Investigation Department of the Main Department of Internal Affairs of St. Petersburg, but there was no further information that in the course of the criminal case anybody was brought to justice. As the newspaper “Business Petersburg” wrote, in March 2005, the St. Petersburg administration sold its last hotel asset, 60% of the Oktyabrskaya hotel, to 1,13 billion rubles ($ 49,8 million) to the structure of the Viking LLC Severnaya Stolitsa group. At the same time, the Property Fund of St. Petersburg admitted that they expected to earn no more than $ 20-25 million for the “October”.

Alexander Gelshtein

Another apartment buyer in Trump royale turned out to be a member of the St. Petersburg criminal chronicles of the end of 1990-x. A citizen of Canada, Alexander Gelshtein became the owner of a small apartment with a total area of ​​86 square. m at the beginning of 2010, and in the spring of 2012, he issued a deed of gift to the company 18201 Trade Management LLC. According to the State Department of State of Florida, the president and sole owner 18201 Trade Management LLC is Larisa Rudman.

According to the operational report of the fifth inter-district department of the Regional Directorate for Combating Organized Crime (MRO RUOP) of 1997, the native of St. Petersburg Larisa Izikovna Rudman is the sister of Alexander Gelshtein. According to the same on-line help at the end of 1990, Gelshtein became a co-founder of AOZT Petrobild.

Previously, the founders of this commercial structure were Sergei Vasiliev and Dmitry Skigin (died in Nice in 2010), who are associated with organized crime in St. Petersburg. In 1990, Skigin controlled the Petersburg Oil Terminal, through which the long-time Putin acquaintance Gennady Timchenko exported oil products. The certificate of MRO RUOP states that the agency Petrobild specialized in real estate operations and acquired apartments for its employees, acquaintances and members of the organized criminal groups of the Vasiliev brothers.

В Trump royale Larisa Rudman owns another apartment worth $ 850 thousand, which she owns through a commercial structure 18201 Trade Management LLC. According to SPARK-Interfax, Rudman is listed as a co-founder of 7 operating companies that are engaged in real estate, restaurant business and cinema equipment.

Maxim Vergun

According to the county property registry entries Miami dadeone of the first Russians who bought apartments in Trump Palace, became Russian Maxim Vergun. The first apartment has an area of ​​177 sq. m at the address: 18101 Collins Avenue Unit 3308 - Vergun purchased it in 2009 for $910 thousand. The second apartment has an area of ​​almost 200 sq. m. m was purchased already in 2015 through a Florida commercial structure IM Entertainment LLC, which Vergun owns together with his wife Irina.

The transaction amount was $ 2 800 000. According to the publication Moscow Post, Maksim Vergun is known to Russian customs officers by a close friendship with the former head of the Seventh Division of the Economic Security Service of the FSB (Department K) Vadim Uvarov, who was dismissed last summer. According to media reports, it was Uvarov who sent Vergun to St. Petersburg to help his longtime business partner Igor Khavronov, known for his many smuggling scandals. The Rosbalt agency wrote that Vergun and Khavronov created a system for smuggling smuggled goods through the Ivangorod checkpoint.

In October, the 2016 of the year crashed: the North-West Operational Customs detained 6 freight trucks that entered the Russian Federation through the Ivangorod checkpoint.

Instead of building materials, customs officers found a batch of clothing brands Louis Vuitton, Hermes Dolce & Gabbana. The trucks went to the address of one of the one-day firms of Maxim Vergun.

As reported in the certificate of the Florida State Department of Corporations, another commercial structure is registered in the name of Maxim Vergun - Imperial Interiors LLC. An organization with the same name was created in 1999 year in Ukraine. Now it is a large and well-known design company that operates in the UAE, Russia and Ukraine. Florida Imperial interiors also deals with luxury interior design. The official website of the company reports that Imperia Interiors represents the best Italian designer houses, such as Roberto Cavalli Home, Gianfranco Ferre Home and La Murrina Murano.

In Russia there is no direct prohibition for officials to own property abroad, including in the United States, but in the declarations of members of the Russian parliament and the cabinet of ministers there was not a single immovable property located on the other side of the Atlantic. The only one who violated this informal ban was the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov. His declaration indicates an American apartment of 126 square meters, recorded for her spouse Tatyana Navka, who bought it long before her marriage with Peskovoy.

The history of residents of fashionable condominiums under the Trump brand is a clear indication that the Russians have invested and continue to invest in its development projects. For example, the opening of residential complexes Trump Hollywood and Trump Royal happened in the 2008 year, right after the US mortgage crisis, which led to a financial crisis and a nationwide housing market crash. Then almost all development projects in South Florida rose. But an analysis of the sale and purchase documents shows that the crisis has not affected Trump’s projects.

They not only failed to burn out, but also successfully developed due to the fact that the developers managed to find a saving layer of clients - rich Russians who sought to withdraw their money abroad. A Reuters study found that at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses bought property in 7 Trump towers for almost $ 100 million. In fact, this amount is much higher, since most buyers usually purchase it on the commercial structure, which allows not to disclose the identity of the present owner.

Participated in the preparation of the investigation Julia Pavlovskaya

Read also on ForumDaily:

“I was treated like a dog”: Russian nanny spoke about the horrors of work for an American millionaire

How Russian mafia launders money in America

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.