Mongolia ex-PM bought NYC apartments with embezzled mining money, US says

The U.S. is moving to seize two New York City apartments purchased with allegedly stolen mining funds by a former Mongolian prime minister, as part of a crackdown on money laundering in upscale real estate, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday.

According to prosecutors in Brooklyn, former Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold and his family acquired the two midtown Manhattan apartments for a total of $14 million in 2012 and 2015. They allege that the funds originated from a $68 million mining contract awarded to Hong Kong-based Catrison Limited in 2011 for purchasing copper concentrates from the Erdenet copper mine in Mongolia, a significant mine in Asia.

Prosecutors claim that Catrison, which lacked mining expertise, was under Batbold's control through trusted intermediaries.

"Batbold used the profits from his illicit corruption scheme to purchase high-end real estate in violation of United States federal law," Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said in a statement.

Batbold, who served as Mongolia's prime minister from 2009 to 2012 and currently holds a seat in the country's parliament, has not responded to requests for comment. As of now, he has not faced any criminal charges.

In February, the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled a long-anticipated plan to curb the flow of illegal funds through American real estate markets. Officials estimate that up to $2.3 billion was laundered through U.S. real estate between 2015 and 2020.

According to prosecutors, shell companies controlled by a Catrison board member purchased an apartment at the Park Imperial building for $3.9 million in 2012. Subsequently, Batbold's son utilized this apartment's address when opening a U.S. bank account the following year.

Additionally, Batbold's son is named as a "co-owner" of another apartment at Carlton House, bought by another Catrison-controlled company for $9.9 million in 2015, prosecutors revealed.