Trump Tower Moscow Developer Used Same P.O. Box As Russian Oligarch Who Laundered
Some more excellent investigative reporting from independent journalist Scott Stedman, who's been putting serious effort into looking into Trump's business connections with Russia.
(Reprinted in full with author's permission)
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https://medium.com/@ScottMStedman/trump-tower-moscow-developer-used-same-p-o-f4560f98564c
Trump Tower Moscow Developer Used Same P.O. Box As Russian Oligarch Who Laundered Hundreds of Millions
Cyprus company that stands to receive 60% of the profits from IC Expert, the developer that signed the 2015 Letter of Intent to build Trump Tower Moscow City, is registered at the same address as a Russian oligarch who laundered hundreds of millions of dollars.
Kolinsen Trading Limited LLC’s legal address is located at 12 Kennedy Business Center, 2nd floor, P.O. Box 1703, in Nicosia, Cyprus, according to official financial documents. The Kennedy Business Center is a modest six story building in the Cypriot capital. Various companies use the Kennedy Business Center’s offices and the use of the building is not nefarious in and of itself.
The exact same address, down to the floor and P.O. box number, was used by a shell company owned by Russian oligarch Sergei Pugachev, who laundered more than $200 million through the Cyprus company. According to the Russian government, Pugachev used the bank he co-founded to loan his own companies large amounts of money, knowing that the loans would never be repaid. In all, more than $2 billion was laundered.
intermediary for Pugachev to disperse the money to dozens of companies. It is registered at at 12 Kennedy Business Center, 2nd floor, P.O. Box 1703, in Nicosia, Cyprus. Pugachev fled to London and then to Nice, France to avoid prosecution by the Russian government. In July, Switzerland opened a money laundering investigation into Pugachev, and in October the UK High Court ruled that the former Former ‘Kremlin banker’ sheltered wealth in offshore accounts with intention to mislead. Russia still seeks his extradition.
The revelation comes as more suspicious details about IC Expert, the developer with whom Trump and Michael Cohen signed a Letter of Intent to build Trump Tower Moscow in October 2015, are uncovered. Andrey Rozov founded the company in 2005, while he served on the board of Mirax, a real estate company whose owner also fled Russia amid accusations of fraud and money laundering. Early records show that Rozov’s company was originally 99.9% owned by Kolinsen Trading Limited. From this, it appears that Rozov is the beneficiary of the Cypriot company.
The Letter of Intent was signed by Donald Trump four months into his Presidential bid. At this point, he was leading in the Republican primary polls by a healthy margin. To do a major real estate licensing deal with a company so mired in scandal and mystery left him tremendously vulnerable to being compromised. Publicly available records and a modest amount of investigating have revealed many red flags with which Trump and his team should have been aware.
First, it has been revealed that Andrey Rozov killed a man in 2011 by recklessly crashing his boat, and was later granted amnesty by the Russian government as Donald Trump was teasing his Presidential ambitions. Second, the mysterious offshore companies mean that anyone could have benefited from this deal. Third, mass allegations of fraud against the developer established that they had a less-than-admirable track record in Russia.
Now, the direct link to a major money laundering scheme raise serious questions as to why Trump didn’t cease all negotiations with this company.
IC Expert’s ownership has changed numerous times since 2005. Kolinsen currently owns a 60% stake in the company, along with 2 other offshore LLCs whose owners have not yet been identified. The entire proceeds of IC Expert, as seen below, end up in offshore accounts.
The company’s only major development complex, Novokosino-2, is still under construction. The Novokosino project has been mired in scandal for years. While the first set of buildings were delivered on time in 2013, construction had essentially stalled by 2014. Thousands of co-investors were left with no homes and no answers, prompting an intervention by regional government officials. Many of the buildings — first promised in July 2015 and then December 2015 — still remain unfinished. Dozens of charges of fraud have been filed in regional courts, as IC Expert has claimed that they do not have the money to finish the construction.
It was recently discovered that three weeks after the Letter of Intent was signed, the three offshore owners pledged 100% of their equity in exchange for a loan from the state-owned Sberbank. This loan, as well as claimed assets worth more than $400 million, have investors and prospective home buyers furious and confused as to how the company has not been able to pay for the construction.
The risk of being in business with such sketchy actors is monumental for any political candidate. Trump and Michael Cohen, in the pursuit of financial gain, made themselves vulnerable to potential blackmail. It is unclear why they felt this risk was worth taking.
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