Feds File Seizure Action Seeking $500M in Alleged Iranian Gov't Property in US
Developing: A federal forfeiture action was filed today by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan seeking possession of $500 million in United States assets allegedly held by front companies for the government of Iran.
The filing targets a controlling ownership interest in a 36-story New York City office building at 650 Fifth Avenue and mosques and other property in California, Maryland, New York, Texas and Virginia, according to Dow Jones Newswires and the Washington Post.
The Post article offers few details on the legal basis for the forfeiture action, but, according to Bloomberg and Dow Jones, the filing today is an amended complaint in a 2008 lawsuit and for the first time identifies the Alavi Foundation as an owner of assets at issue in the case.
“As today’s complaint alleges in great detail, the Alavi Foundation has effectively been a front for the government of Iran,” says U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “For two decades, the Alavi Foundation’s affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws.”
The Dow Jones article says that the midtown Manhattan building targeted for forfeiture was constructed during the 1970s by a foundation established by Iran’s former shah that was later renamed Alavi.
The Alavi Foundation, its lawyer, Daniel Ruzumna, and the Iranian Mission at the United Nations in New York didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment by Bloomberg and Dow Jones.
However, in a filing last month in the case another defendant sought its dismissal, arguing that U.S. prosecutors are attempting to “broaden the scope of the U.S. forfeiture laws beyond Congress’ intent,” reports the Dow Jones article.
