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NEW YORK – An office tower is subject to forfeiture because revenue from it was secretly funneled to a state-owned Iranian bank in violation of a U.S. trade embargo, a judge ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest made the forfeiture finding in Manhattan, ruling in a case brought by the U.S. government in 2008.
Read more: www.foxnews.com...
"The Government argues that Alavi asserts a sort of collective amnesia," she said. "The court finds the analogy apt and its reality implausible. No rational juror could believe in such extraordinary amnesia."
"The Foundation was ready for trial and is disappointed that it did not have the opportunity to rebut the Government evidence before a jury," it said in an emailed statement.
"Having engaged in a money laundering violation, the entirety of the 650 Fifth Avenue Building (the business premises) and all of the associated bank accounts are subject to forfeiture -- even if they were not used in the money laundering offense itself."
reply to post by Chrisfishenstein
Save this website and article....This poor judge will "cease to exist" and this building will be back to war profiteering in no time!!
The judge, in her opinion, recounted the history of the Fifth Avenue building, saying it was built in the 1970s on property acquired by a not-for-profit corporation formed in New York by then Iranian leader Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in 1979. She said it was valued at $83 million in 1989, when a partnership called the 650 Fifth Avenue Co. was formed, with Assa contributing $44 million in a deal the government maintained was designed to avoid U.S. taxes.
reply to post by Swills
Good to see she's still keeping America safe & honest.
Naughty Iran, shame on you!
36-story Manhattan building was a shell company fronting for a secret interest held by the state-owned bank of Iran
Read more: www.foxnews.com...