Manhattan borough president Mark Levine has said that New York should seize properties belonging to Russian oligarchs, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“For years Manhattan has been one of the most popular safe harbours for Russian oligarchs to park their cash, especially via ultra-high-end apartments,” tweeted Mr Levine. “It’s time to start seizing their properties. #SupportUkraine.”
A number of high profile Russian businessmen own property in New York, including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich who has an estimated $90 million of property in New York, and Oleg Deripaska who has around $50 million, plus Len Blavatnik with an estimated $80 million in real estate in the city.
Co-founder of LetterOne Group, Alexei Kuzmichev, has around $60 million in property and Dmitry Rybolovlev reportedly bought a $88 million penthouse in Central Park West for his daughter.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has made similar requests, in recent days he’s demanded the seizure of property assets held by allies of Vladimir Putin. Transparency International estimates that oligarchs real estate in the UK capital is estimated to be worth £1.1 billion.
“For far too long ministers have turned a blind eye to the use of our capital’s homes as a safe harbour for oligarchs to park their cash, which is having a negative impact on both our international reputation and our local housing market,” said Mr Khan. “Now is the time to act.”
Credit: Source link
