Felix Sater

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Felix Sater
Born
Felix Mikhailovich Sheferovsky or Haim Felix Sater

(1966-03-02) March 2, 1966 (age 58)
Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Other names
EducationPace University
Occupation(s)Real estate developer, FBI informant
Years active1989–present
SpouseViktoria Sater

Felix Henry Sater

Mirax Group
.

In 1998, Sater pleaded guilty to his involvement in a $40 million stock fraud scheme orchestrated by the

Russian Mafia,[9][10] and became an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and federal prosecutors, assisting with organized crime investigations. In 2017, Sater agreed to cooperate with investigators into international money laundering schemes.[11]

During

House Intelligence Committee after he refused a request to testify voluntarily.[13][14] On July 9, 2019, Sater appeared before the House Intelligence Committee, but repeatedly withheld testimony and documents concerning the details of a false joint defense agreement and thus remains under subpoena.[15][16]

Early life and family

Sater was born in Moscow into a

Russian Mafia "boss of bosses" Semion Mogilevich, and was convicted of extorting money from local restaurants, grocery stores, and a medical clinic.[18]

Felix Sater was reportedly a childhood friend of Michael Cohen.[19]

Business and advisory career

Sater attended

National Association of Securities Dealers from acting as a broker or otherwise associating with a broker-dealer firm.[2][24] In January 2022, Sater claimed that the barfight victim had tried to decline pressing charges, but that the U.S. government kept pressing because they wanted cooperation from Sater's father.[28]

In 2008, Sater joined the board of the Russian real estate company

Mirax Group, owned by Sergei Polonsky.[29][30]

Work with the Bayrock Group

Main article: Bayrock Group

Sater joined

Trump SoHo project.[31] He left Bayrock Group LLC in 2008 after the New York Times disclosed his pending criminal case.[31]

Trump SoHo

Felix Sater was a managing director of Bayrock Group LLC, as well as a senior advisor to

disputed – discuss
]

He played a major role throughout the process of the building's construction, and remained managing director of Bayrock Group when the Trump SoHo project was completed in 2010. The building is a $450 million, 46-story, 391-unit hotel condominium located at 246 Spring Street in

SoHo, New York City. The project was a collaboration between The Trump Organization, Bayrock Group LLC and Tamir Sapir
.

In December 2017, the Trump SoHo was renamed to The Dominick.

Other projects

Sater has been an advisor, investor, or developer in notable real estate projects including the

1 Blackfriars in London.[32][33]

In addition to real estate development endeavors, Sater also has started businesses in the fields of philanthropy, investment, retail, and energy.[34]

In late January 2017, Sater met with Ukrainian politician

Sergei Lavrov rejected Russia "leasing" Crimea from Ukraine claiming "we cannot rent from ourselves".[36]

Criminal convictions and federal cooperation

Felix Sater has been described as a career criminal due to his links to

La Cosa Nostra. In 2006 there was a lawsuit that alleged that Sater made a death threat against a Bayrock investor named Ernie Menez. Sater threatened to have a man electrically shock Menez genitals, cut off his legs, and have him put in the trunk of a car. Sater possibly did this because of Menez finding out about his past convictions and links to organized crime.[9][42][45]

The

embezzling millions of dollars and is wanted by Interpol.[11]

Sater received multiple subpoenas to produce documents and be deposed in the case against Mukhtar Ablyazov who is alleged to have defrauded BTA Bank of up to $5 billion as chairman.[46] Ablyazov's alleged fraud is one of the biggest cases of financial fraud in history.[47]

In 2020 there was a lawsuit accusing Felix Sater and his partner Daniel Ridloff of using Trump properties such as Bayrock to launder millions of dollars in stolen funds. Sater has denied the allegations and has attempted to settle the suit but was not successful.[48][49]

Role in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden

In December 2017, Sater was questioned by a congressional committee in an out-of-state interview about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[50][51] In his opening statement to that interview, Sater claimed to be a confidential source for the U.S. Government who played an important role in providing intelligence related to the Northern Alliance and Taliban, and locating and disrupting Al-Qaeda operations in Afghanistan as well as locating Osama bin Laden prior to the September 11 attacks.[52] Sater further claimed that he had been in a position to kill bin Laden in 1998 during a raid on a terrorist training camp inside Afghanistan and regretted his decision not to, a claim that was later confirmed by investigative journalists Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier via U.S. intelligence officials with knowledge of the incident.[53] In 2019, as part of a broader discussion with the House Intelligence Committee about his years-long cooperation with the FBI, CIA, and Defense Intelligence Agency, Sater formally testified to assisting the U.S. Government locate Osama Bin Laden.[54] Judge I. Leo Glasser confirmed that Sater helped the U.S. government track down bin Laden as he provided the telephone number of Osama bin Laden.[55][56] Sater had been in a position to access information related to bin Laden's phone numbers and whereabouts due to having been involved with a telecommunications company with ties to the GRU in the mid-1990s that operated in former Soviet bloc countries and sold transmission data to AT&T.[57]

Involvement with Trump Organization during presidential campaign

Mueller's investigators had questioned Sater,[43] and on April 13, 2018, reported that a former Russian spy had helped secure financing for the project.[58] In 2010, Sater was provided business cards describing himself as "Senior Advisor to Donald Trump" with an email address at TrumpOrg.com.[25] In a 2013 sworn affidavit, Trump said "If [Sater] were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn't know what he looked like,"[59] and in 2015 he stated "Felix Sater, boy, I have to even think about it. I'm not that familiar with him."[60] Trump has been photographed several times with Sater, including while speaking privately with him.[61][62][63][64]

Sater's anticipated public testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, scheduled for March 27, 2019,

Mueller Report.[66] He was then rescheduled to give closed-door testimony on June 21, 2019.[67] On June 21, 2019, the U.S. House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to Sater after he skipped a testimony which he agreed to voluntarily.[13][14] He later appeared before the House Intelligence Committee on July 9, 2019 during a closed door meeting which lasted for eight hours. Though Sater claimed that he cooperated and provided information about the Trump Tower project, Patrick Boland, spokesman for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, denied this and stated that Sater only partially cooperated and showed defiance by withholding requested testimony and documents concerning a real estate project which Sater acknowledged was falsely presented as a joint defense agreement between Trump and Russia and the telephone conversations pertaining to this agreement.[15][16] Boland also stated that Sater will remain under subpoena until he cooperates with this request.[16][15]

Personal life

His wife, Viktoria, is the founder and owner of a granola health food company.[68][69] Felix Sater was a member of the Chabad of Port Washington and was named their Man of the Year in 2010 and 2014.[70][71]

See also

Further reading

  • Frank, Thomas (January 12, 2018). "Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos To Unknown Buyers". BuzzFeed News.
  • Cormier, Anthony; Leopold, Jason (March 12, 2018). "How A Player In The Trump-Russia Scandal Led A Double Life As An American Spy". BuzzFeed News.

References

  1. BBC Russian Service
     (in Russian). Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bagli, Charles V. (December 17, 2007). "Real Estate Executive With Hand in Trump Projects Rose From Tangled Past". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  3. ^
    McClatchyDC
    . Retrieved August 18, 2017.
  4. ^ Babushkin, Yevgeny (November 15, 2016). "Фе́ликс Сатер: Как я советовал Трампу и охотился на Бен Ладена" [Felix Sater: As I advised Trump and hunted Bin Laden]. Snob.ru (in Russian). Retrieved August 21, 2017. Бывший москвич Феликс Сатер, урожденный Шеферовский – человек редкой судьбы. (Former Muscovite Felix Sater, born Sheferovsky, is a man of rare fate.)
  5. Gazeta.ru
    (in Russian). Retrieved August 21, 2017. Среди персон, попавших в поле зрения сенаторов, – бывший москвич Феликс Сатер, урожденный Фе́ликс Шерефовский. (Among the people the senators have in their sites is the former Muscovite Felix Sater, born Felix Sherefovsky (sic).)
  6. ^ Wood, Paul (May 23, 2018). "Trump lawyer 'paid by Ukraine' to arrange White House talks". BBC News. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  7. ^ Price, Greg (April 4, 2018). "Who Is Felix Sater? Former Trump Business Associate Talking To Senate Intelligence Committee". Newsweek. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Apuzzo, Matt; Haberman, Maggie (August 28, 2017). "Felix Sater, Trump Associate, Boasted That Moscow Business Deal 'Will Get Donald Elected'". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (May 17, 2016). "Former Mafia-linked figure describes association with Trump". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Trump, the Russian Lawyer and the Pop Star: President's Links to Azerbaijan Oligarch Come Under Scrutiny". Newsweek. July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Burgis, Tom (July 6, 2017). "Russia-born dealmaker linked to Trump assists laundering probe". Financial Times. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  12. ^ Mueller report Vol. 1 p. 71
  13. ^ a b Desiderio, Rew; Bertr, Natasha (June 21, 2019). "House Intel subpoenas Felix Sater after he fails to appear for testimony". Politico.
  14. ^ a b Homan, Timothy R. (June 21, 2019). "House Intelligence Committee to subpoena Trump associate Felix Sater". The Hill.
  15. ^ a b c Bertr, Natasha (July 9, 2019). "Felix Sater slammed by House panel as uncooperative". Politico.
  16. ^ a b c Conradis, Brandon (July 9, 2019). "Trump associate Felix Sater grilled by House Intel". The Hill.
  17. ^ Kozlovsky, Vladimir (June 13, 2016). Советник с большой дороги [Adviser on the big road]. The New Times (in Russian). Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  18. ^ Unger, Craig (July 13, 2017). "Trump's Russian Laundromat". The New Republic. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  19. ^ Bambury, Brent (May 4, 2018). "Active Measures director says Trump's Russian mob ties are his biggest legal vulnerability". CBC Radio. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  20. Bloomberg
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  21. ^ a b Hettena, Seth (September 2, 2017). "Felix Sater's Wall Street Days". Trump/Russia. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  22. ^ Rice, Andrew (August 3, 2017). "The Original Russia Connection". New York. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  23. ^ a b "Joshua Bernstein vs. Bayrock Group LLC: Felix H. Sater" (deposition). New York Southern District Court. March 9, 2010. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  24. ^
    FINRA
    . Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  25. ^ a b c Mosk, Matthew; Ross, Brian (December 10, 2015). "Memory Lapse? Trump Seeks Distance From 'Advisor' With Past Ties to Mafia". ABC News. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  26. ^ Gitlin, Todd (June 21, 2016). "The Donald Trump Story You're Not Hearing About". BillMoyers.com. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  27. ^ a b Daly, Michael; Weiss, Michael (February 24, 2017). "Felix Sater: The Crook Behind the Trump-Russia 'Peace' Plan". The Daily Beast. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  28. ^ "Let's Talk Felix Sater". YouTube. Event occurs at 117m55s. I was involved in a stock fraud. There was a reason why that happened. Um, because the U.S. government decided to throw me in jail over a barfight, um, because they wanted to get my father to cooperate with them. Most people don't know that story. I think nobody knows that story. It's maybe the first time that I'm telling anyone. Um, I got into a barfight. The guy tried to drop the charges. And the U.S. government showed up at my father's doorstep and said, "If you don't cooperate with us, we're going to send him to jail." And they did. And he didn't. And they did. And they took my license away. And I was angry that my life was taken away, and I was used. And that's when I went into the stock fraud thing. And I had a small child, a recently-born child. And no money for rent. And, you know, I did what I did. Not justifying it. I'm just stating a fact of what happened.
  29. Wall Street Journal
    . Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  30. ^ Sazonov, Alexander; Voreacos, David; Reznik, Irina (September 1, 2017). "Trump's Would-Be Moscow Partner Faces Homebuyers' Ire". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  31. ^ a b Silverman, Gary (August 14, 2016). "US election: Trump's Russian riddle". Financial Times. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  32. ^ "Project Portfolio". Felix Sater. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
  33. ^ "Felix Sater Profile". Behance.Net. Archived from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
  34. ^ "Felix Sater: The Trump SoHo and Other Projects". Felixsater.net. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  35. ^ Twohey, Megan; Shane, Scott (February 19, 2017). "A Back-Channel Plan for Ukraine and Russia, Courtesy of Trump Associates". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  36. ^ "Russia can't rent Crimea from Russia, FM Lavrov says". Pravda.ru. February 20, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  37. ^ O'Brien, Timothy L. (August 29, 2017). "Felix Sater Is a Lean, Mean Trump-Russia Machine". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  38. ^ Dreyfuss, Bob (August 30, 2017). "Russiagate's Second Smoking Gun". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  39. ^ Cesca, Bob (June 23, 2017). "Who is Felix Sater? Meet the shady Russian investor who may be a centerpiece of the investigation". Salon. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  40. ^ O'Brien, Timothy L. (November 22, 2017). "Trumps Can Never Really Check Out of SoHo Hotel". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  41. ^ "On MSNBC Steven Harper Talks About the Moscow Tower Deal That 'Will Get Donald Elected'". BillMoyers.com. September 12, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  42. ^ a b c Tanfani, Joseph; Cloud, David S. (March 2, 2017). "Trump business associate led double life as FBI informant – and more, he says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  43. ^ a b Cormier, Anthony; Leopold, Jason (March 12, 2018). "How A Player In The Trump–Russia Scandal Led A Double Life As An American Spy". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  44. ^ Lovelace, Ryan (February 12, 2015). "Loretta Lynch Responds to Reporting on Allegations She Slighted Victims' Rights". National Review. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  45. ^ Horwitz, Jeff (March 21, 2016). "Judge asks US to defend secrecy of Trump associate's history". San Diego Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  46. ^ "Trump Crony Felix Sater Now Cooperating in New York in Kazakh/BTA Bank Trial". Daily Kos. January 24, 2018. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  47. ^ Neate, Rupert (February 16, 2012). "Arrest warrant for Kazakh billionaire accused of one of world's biggest frauds". The Guardian. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  48. ^ Papenfuss, Mary (December 1, 2020). "Former Trump Associate Felix Sater Must Face Money Laundering Suit". HuffPost. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  49. ^ "FinCEN Files: Trump Associate Felix Sater's $100 Million In "Suspicious" Transactions". BuzzFeed News. October 15, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  50. ^ Raju, ManU; Herb, Jeremy (December 14, 2017). "House intel heading to NY for two key interviews, prompting grumbling from Democrats". CNN. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  51. ^ Demirjian, Karoun (December 14, 2017). "House interview with longtime Trump aide fuels tension on intelligence panel". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  52. ^ Sater, Felix (December 14, 2017). "Felix Sater House Intelligence Committee Statement December 2017". House Intelligence Committee. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  53. ^ Jason Leopold and Anthony Cormier (October 19, 2020). "Suspicious Activity: Inside the FinCEN File". BuzzFeed News (Podcast). BuzzFeed News. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  54. ^ Karoun Demirjian (July 9, 2019). "After hours of testimony, House panel presses ex-Trump partner for more detail on Moscow project". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  55. ^ Frazin, Rachel (May 16, 2019). "Trump associate gave US government Osama bin Laden's phone number, judge says". The Hill. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  56. ^ Bertr, Natasha (May 16, 2019). "Judge confirms Trump associate gave feds Osama bin Laden's number". Politico. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  57. ^ Powell, Bill (June 7, 2018). "Donald Trump Associate Felix Sater Is Linked to the Mob and the CIA—What's His Role in the Russia Investigation?". Newsweek. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  58. ^ Leopold, Jason; Cormier, Anthony (April 13, 2018). "Former Russian Spy Worked On Trump Moscow Deal While Trump Was Running For President". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  59. ^ Dreyfuss, Bob (September 8, 2017). "Who Is Felix Sater, and Why Is Donald Trump So Afraid of Him?". The Nation. Archived from the original on April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  60. ^ Horwitz, Jeff (December 4, 2015). "Trump picked stock fraud felon as senior adviser". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  61. ^ McIntire, Mike; Twohey, Megan; Mazzetti, Mark (November 29, 2018). "How a Lawyer, a Felon and a Russian General Chased a Moscow Trump Tower Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  62. ^ Ward, Alex (December 6, 2018). "Felix Sater, the spy, criminal, and mafia-linked executive tied to Trump Tower Moscow, explained". Vox. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  63. ^ Ferguson, Sarah; McGregor, Jeanavive; Carter, Lucy (June 4, 2018). "Felix Sater: the business partner Donald Trump wants nothing to do with". ABC News. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  64. ^ Prokop, Andrew (August 28, 2017). "A Trump associate bragged that a business deal with Putin could "get Donald elected"". Vox. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  65. ^ "Trump associate Felix Sater's testimony postponed to March 27". Reuters. March 8, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  66. ^ Chalfant, Morgan (March 25, 2019). "House Intel panel postpones interview with Felix Sater to focus on Mueller findings". The Hill. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  67. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  68. ^ Wylie, Melissa (May 12, 2017). "Why grocers scooped up Viki's Granola". American City Business Journals. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  69. ^ Laws, Nancy (January 20, 2016). "5 Questions with Woman of Influence, Viki's Granola's Viki Sater". Project Eve. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  70. ^ Rabbi Paltiel. "Dinner 2010: Felix Sater". Vimeo. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  71. ^ Felix Sater (August 8, 2014). "Felix Sater – Man Of The Year: Chabad of Port Washington". YouTube. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
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