Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Court Judgment Finding Midtown Office Building Secretly Owned And Controlled By Government Of Iran Subject To Forfeiture For Violations Of The Iranian Transactions Regulations And Money Laundering Offenses

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces Court Judgment Finding Midtown Office Building Secretly Owned And Controlled By Government Of Iran Subject To Forfeiture For Violations Of The Iranian Transactions Regulations And Money Laundering Offenses

 Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that United States District Judge Katherine B. Forrest has issued a decision granting summary judgment in favor of the United States’ claims for forfeiture of the 36-story Midtown Manhattan office building located at 650 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York (“the Building”), as the result of violations of the Iranian Transactions Regulations promulgated under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”), and the federal money laundering statutes. The Court found that the partners of the Building’s owner, the Alavi Foundation and Assa Corp., committed the IEEPA violations and money laundering offenses.

Paging Irony Burns......