與特朗普有聯繫的交易掮客同意協助調查
Donald Trump faces renewed scrutiny of the riches that flowed into his real estate empire from the former Soviet Union after a fixer for a Kazakh family accused of pumping dirty money into US property agreed to assist an international investigation into his former business partners.
從前蘇聯流入唐納德?特朗普(Donald Trump)房產帝國的財富使其面臨新的審查。一個被指控向美國房地產大量投入黑錢的哈薩克家庭的代理人同意協助針對前商業夥伴的國際調查。Felix Sater, a Russia-born dealmaker with organised-crime connections who worked on ventures including Trump Soho in Manhattan, has attracted attention in recent months as efforts continue to chart the links between the US president’s circle and moneymen from Russia and its neighbours.
出生於俄羅斯的費利克斯?薩塔爾(Felix Sater)是一名與有組織犯罪有關聯的交易掮客，他曾經效力的項目包括位於曼哈頓的特朗普休南酒店(Trump Soho，見文首照片)。最近幾個月，隨着調查特朗普圈內人士與來自俄羅斯及其鄰國的權貴人士之間關係的努力繼續推進，薩塔爾引發了外界的關注。In October the Financial Times revealed that Mr Sater had helped the family of Viktor Khrapunov, a former Kazakh minister now exiled in Switzerland, invest millions in US property through front companies. The Khrapunovs have spent heavily across the US, including, records indicate, buying apartments in Trump Soho.
去年10月，英國《金融時報》曾披露，薩塔爾曾協助如今流亡瑞士的哈薩克前部長維克托?赫拉普諾夫(Viktor Khrapunov)家族，通過幌子公司向美國房地產投資鉅款。記錄顯示，赫拉普諾夫家族在美國各地出手闊綽，包括在特朗普休南酒店購買公寓。
Mr Khrapunov is accused by Kazakhstan’s rulers of embezzling government funds and hiding the cash around the world. Kazakh authorities claim the Khrapunovs’ laundering schemes also funnelled money from a fellow dissident, Mukhtar Ablyazov, an oligarch accused of stealing billions of dollars from a bank.
哈薩克斯坦當政者指控赫拉普諾夫挪用政府資金，並將錢藏匿於世界各地。哈薩克當局聲稱，赫拉普諾夫家族的洗錢計劃還幫助該國異見人士穆赫塔爾?阿布利亞佐夫(Mukhtar Ablyazov)轉移資金，後者是一名寡頭，被指控從一家銀行竊取了數十億美元。
Mr Sater has agreed to co-operate with an international investigation into the alleged money-laundering network, five people with knowledge of the matter said. The co-operation has included working with a team of lawyers and private investigators pursuing civil cases across three continents, the people said. Mr Sater declined to comment.
據五位知情人士透露，薩塔爾已同意與針對這一涉嫌洗錢網絡的國際調查進行合作。他們表示，合作包括與一隊律師和私人調查人員聯手在三大洲打民事官司。薩塔爾拒絕發表評論。In Kazakhstan, as in other former Soviet states, Mr Trump’s sprawling business interests threaten to impinge on the president as he manages US foreign policy commitments in the region.
在哈薩克斯坦，同在其他前蘇聯國家一樣，特朗普觸角廣泛的商業利益威脅着他作爲美國總統對該地區的外交政策責任。The alleged Kazakh launderers — not the US president or Mr Sater — are the main focus of the investigation, said Matthew Schwartz of Boies Schiller Flexner, a US law firm working on the probe. However, the eight-year probe has already offered a rare glimpse of the inner workings of a US property market that Treasury department officials warn is awash with dirty money. It has raised questions about what steps Mr Trump has taken to check whether tainted funds are coursing through his properties.
參與此次調查的美國律師事務所Boies Schiller Flexner的馬修?施瓦茨(Matthew Schwartz)表示，涉嫌的哈薩克洗錢者——而非特朗普或薩塔爾——纔是此次調查的重中之重。然而，這一長達8年的調查早已提供了窺探美國房地產市場內部運作的難得機會。美國財政部官員警告稱，美國的房地產市場充斥着黑錢。調查還引發了人們對特朗普已採取何種措施覈查是否有黑錢通過其房地產生意洗白的質疑。
