Thread: The Hidden Money Buying Up New York Real Estate

The Hidden Money Buying Up New York Real Estate

By THE NEW YORK TIMES FEB. 7, 2015




For more than a year, The New York Times examined the influx of global cash fueling the city’s high-end real estate boom. The investigation pierced the secrecy of more than 200 shell companies that have owned condominiums at one complex, the Time Warner Center.

TOWERS OF SECRECY
Articles in this series examine people behind shell companies buying high-end real estate.

Part 1
Time Warner Center: Symbol of the Boom

Monday
The Mysterious Malaysian Financier

Tuesday
The Besieged Indian Builder

Wednesday
The Mexican Power Brokers

Thursday
The Russian Minister and Friends

Summary
The Hidden Money Buying Up New York Real Estate

The Times found:
■ Nearly half of the most expensive residential properties in the United States are now purchased anonymously through shell companies.
■ The real estate industry does little examination of buyers’ identities or backgrounds, and there is no legal requirement for it to do so.
■ At the Time Warner Center, 37 percent of the condominiums are owned by foreigners. At least 16 foreigners who have owned in the building have been the subject of government inquiries, either personally or as heads of companies.
Read the first part of the series here. Four more stories will be published in the coming week.

A GLOBAL NEIGHBORHOOD OVERLOOKING CENTRAL PARK

The Times traced condominiums to people from all over the world and many different industries. Here are some people who have been tied either personally or through close relatives to Time Warner:

MANHATTAN MARGARITAVILLE
Jimmy Buffett

The singer and songwriter who struck it rich with his music, restaurants and merchandise. His Manhattan neighbors include oligarchs, but his song "I'm No Russian" has nothing to do with Time Warner, said his wife, Jane.

THE PREACHER
Creflo Dollar

Atlanta preacher and noted religious broadcaster who teaches that poverty is not God's will. In 2007, his megachurch was one of several questioned by a United States senator over ministers' spending on cars and other perks.

COURAGE UNDER FIRE
Tom Brady

The New England Patriots quarterback who bought his 74th-floor condo in 2006 using a trust named Courage Under Fire. But he apparently never warmed to the condo and instead rented it out for a reported $50,000 a month before selling it in 2011.

ACROSS THE BORDER
José Murat Casab

Head of a prominent Mexican political family and former governor of Oaxaca. His son, Alejandro, leads a government housing agency. Their family has acquired a half-dozen properties in the United States.

DOGGED BY PROTESTS
Kabul Chawla

Indian housing developer dogged by complaints from consumers back home who say he collected millions but has not delivered their promised apartments.

MYSTERIOUS MALAYSIAN FINANCIER
Jho Low

Businessman who has spent more than $140 million on residences in New York and in the Los Angeles area. Mr. Low later sold two of those properties to the stepson of Malaysia’s prime minister, whose family considers him a longtime friend.

THE RUSSIAN MINISTER
Andrey Vavilov

Former Russian senator and deputy finance minister who emerged as one of the more controversial figures of the Yeltsin administration. Prosecutors tried to charge him with abuse of office, but the statute of limitations ran out.

MINING MAGNATE
Anil Agarwal

Indian founder and chairman of Vedanta Resources, a global mining conglomerate. An Indian judge found that he and family members had improperly moved money out of the country. His company was found to have caused severe pollution in India and Zambia.

BUYING FROM A DORM ROOM
Anna Ai Fang

Daughter of a former Chinese official who listed her Columbia dormitory on the Time Warner condo deed. Her father, Fang Fenglei, worked for the government and state-owned banks from the 1980s until around the time of the condo purchase.

GREEK MOGUL
Dimitrios Contominas

Greek insurance and media executive arrested in January 2014 on charges that a loan intended for his business went to buy a London home for his daughter. Mr. Contominas denies the charges. His daughter lived at his Time Warner condo until he sold it last fall.

REALITY CONTESTANT
Elena Aleksandrova

The ex-wife of a wealthy Russian who searched for a boyfriend on the reality show "The Millionaire Matchmaker." She concluded that her suitor, a dancer named Geronimo, did not measure up as a father figure for her young son.

TARGETED BY U.S. MARSHALS
James Nicholson

American hedge fund manager arrested in early 2009 on charges of financial fraud. Mr. Nicholson's condo was sold by the United States Marshals Service in 2010, two months before he was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

SELLING FROM JAIL
Pablo Ardila

Former Colombian governor under investigation by his country's federal law enforcement agency for several allegations, including corruption in public office. He sold the unit he owned with his parents while he was in jail in 2010.

ROYAL AMBASSADOR
Prince Bandar bin Sultan

Saudi royal and former ambassador to the United States. His wife, Princess Haifa, was reported to have sent money that aided the Sept. 11 hijackers. The Sept. 11 Commission found no evidence that she did so, directly or indirectly.

SHIFTING TO A SHELL
Stewart Ford

Scottish businessman under investigation by British regulators. Mr. Ford is the former chief executive of Keydata Investment Services, a firm that collapsed in 2009 and lost the savings of 30,000 people. Soon after, Mr. Ford transferred the condo to a shell company and sold it.

SNUBBED BY CANADA
Vitaly Malkin

Former Russian senator who battled the Canadian authorities over entering their country. A condo owned by a family trust has undergone extensive renovations.

EMBASSY BUILDER
Wang Wenliang

Chinese businessman whose company builds embassies and consulates worldwide. The company housed some workers in what Jersey City authorities deemed "troubling" conditions, including poor sanitation and crowding. Mr. Wang sits on the board of trustees at New York University.



Illustrations by Michael Hoeweler

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New York City sales data from PropertyShark. National sales data from First American Data Tree. The graphic represents the number of apartments on each floor, not the location. The representation of the Plaza does not reflect hotel use.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/ny...al-estate.html

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