FBI raids Trump Tower condo owned by two Russian businessmen

The Federal Bureau of Investigation raided a condominium owned by two Russian businessmen in one of the three Trump Towers in Sunny Isles Beach in Florida.

A squad of FBI agents, assisted by local police, carried out the raid Thursday morning on the luxurious waterfront skyscraper, the miami herald reports.

The search target, Unit 4102, is owned by a shell company, MIC-USA LLC, controlled by Oleg Sergeyevich Patsulya and Agunda Konstantinovna Makeeva, according to state records.

On Friday, a spokesman for the FBI’s Miami field office said the office “was conducting court-ordered law enforcement activities in the vicinity of that location.”

No further information was provided and none of the businessmen responded to the outlet’s request for comment.

Mr. Patsulya’s wife, Rosa Pereira, who is also listed in the corporate documents of the shell company, told the Herald she was aware of the raid.

“I can’t talk about it,” he told the newspaper. “Lawyer [for my husband] He said not to talk to anyone. … I have no idea what it is about.”

Donald Trump licensed his name to the Trump Towers condominium project in Sunny Isles Beach, north of Miami Beach and south of Hollywood, Florida.

He Herald notes that locals have nicknamed it “Little Moscow” due to the large number of Russian expatriates who have made it their home.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there were concerns of a backlash against the wealthy community as the US government applied sanctions against Russian oligarchs, many of whom hide their wealth in real estate in Ukraine. south florida.

The former president signed the license agreement with the developers of the three 45-story towers before taking office to help promote the project.

According to county property records, the three-bedroom, three-bathroom residence on the 41st floor at the center of the raid was purchased for $1.65 million a decade ago.

Patsulya and Makeeva were sued by BAC Florida Bank in 2020 for allegedly failing to pay the $975,000 mortgage on the property.

The dispute has been resolved and the condo is still owned by the two Russians.