Moscow native Felix Sater, a real estate developer and former business associate of President Donald Trump known for his ties to the Russian mafia, has been accused of laundering millions of dollars in a lawsuit. And on Monday, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan allowed that lawsuit to move forward.
The money, according to the lawsuit, was stolen from BTA Bank in Kazakhstan, and Sater is accused of laundering it through Trump Organization properties.
In a 25-page opinion, Law & Crime reporter Adam Klasfeld reports, Nathan dismissed two counts of a six-count complaint and wrote, “In this case, Kazakhstan’s largest city and a Kazakhstani bank seek to recover millions of dollars in stolen funds from those who allegedly helped the culprits launder them. Felix Sater — the alleged ringleader of the money-laundering operation — along with his associate Daniel Ridloff and several business entities they control, move to dismiss.”
According to Nathan, “The court emphasizes that the Kazakh entities will need to adduce evidence showing the Sater defendants’ deceptive conduct and their justifiable reliance on that conduct in significantly greater detail to meet their burdens of production and of proof as the case progresses. However, at this stage, the court concludes that it is not clear on the face of the complaint that their claims are untimely, and so, declines to dismiss any claims on that basis.” Continue reading.
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