Former Mongolian Prime Minister allegedly purchases luxury Manhattan flats with corrupt funds

• US prosecutors allege that Batbold used millions from mining contracts to finance his family’s lavish lifestyle.
• Batbold’s eldest son used one of the apartments, listing the address as his postal address in the US.
• The state could potentially forfeit the properties if prosecutors’ claims are deemed valid by a court.

US authorities have alleged that Mongolia’s former Prime Minister, Sukhbaatar Batbold, purchased two luxury apartments in New York City with the proceeds of a corrupt scheme. Prosecutors seek to seize the prime real estate in midtown Manhattan, valued at a total of $14m (£11m). They claim that Batbold, who served as PM from 2009-2012, acquired the flats after his family-controlled firm secured a major mining contract.

Mining constitutes the key industry in Mongolia. Mr. Batbold, aged 60, has denied the accusations. Despite the allegations, the Mongolian politician continues to hold a seat in parliament.

“Mr. Batbold looks forward to his day in court, when he will have the opportunity to defend himself against these unfounded claims,” said his lawyer Orin Snyder in a statement reported by Reuters.

US federal prosecutors allege that he purchased two apartments blocks from Central Park. One is located at The Carlton House, a building just one block away on East 61st Street, and the other is a condo unit in The Park Imperial, a 70-story glass skyscraper, just a few doors down from Carnegie Hall. They have accused him of “funneling millions of dollars from mining contracts through illegitimate shell companies to finance his family’s lavish lifestyle.”

“Batbold’s alleged behavior – personally profiting off of public corruption comes at the expense of the law-abiding citizens he governed,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge James Smith.

US prosecutors allege that during Mr. Batbold’s tenure as prime minister, a company he controlled through intermediaries received a $68m mining contract despite the firm, known as Catrison, having no pre-existing mining operations or history. Its sole director was a former linguistics teacher. They allege that they siphoned millions of dollars from that mining contract and others into foreign bank accounts and funneled them through shell companies. US prosecutors said some of that money was used to purchase the Manhattan flats.

According to their court claim, Mr. Batbold’s eldest son used one of the apartments, listing the address as his postal address in the US. Although Mr. Batbold himself is not facing charges, the state could potentially forfeit the properties if a court deems prosecutors’ claims valid.

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