那些隱跡於紐約奢華公寓的全球富豪(3)

In court papers, Mr. Malkin vehemently denied involvement in organized crime, calling the allegations by the Canadian authorities unsupported and noting that he had been free to travel to other countries. Mr. Malkin sued the Canadian authorities, and in June 2009 a judge ruled that the case should be reviewed because Mr. Malkin had not been given a chance to respond to the allegations.

法庭文件顯示，馬爾金極力否認參與了有組織犯罪，稱加拿大當局的說法沒有依據，並指出自己前往其他國家時皆暢通無阻。馬爾金起訴了加拿大當局，2009年6月，一名法官裁定應對該案進行重審，因爲馬爾金早前沒有迴應相關指控的機會。

Mr. Malkin was allowed to visit Canada in 2012, his lawyer, Gregory Sidlofsky of Toronto, said in an email, adding, “Canadian authorities never had nor provided any evidence of any wrongdoing by Mr. Malkin.” In the Angola debt case, he said, Swiss investigators ultimately found no wrongdoing. Mr. Sidlofsky said the $48.8 million was a dividend reflecting his client’s share of the intermediary company. As for the long-running renovation of the Time Warner condo, he said, “Mr. Malkin does not own the apartment, nor has he had any recent involvement in the renovation.”

馬爾金在多倫多的律師格雷戈裏·希德洛夫斯基(Gregory Sidlofsky)在電子郵件中說，馬爾金於2012年獲許進入加拿大，並表示，“加拿大當局從未掌握或提供任何證據，表明馬爾金有任何不端行爲。”他說，在安哥拉債務一事中，瑞士調查結構最終也並未發現馬爾金有不端行爲。他說，那4880萬美元是其當事人在該公司所持股份帶來的分紅。至於時代華納中心那套共管公寓長時間翻修一事，他表示，“馬爾金不是那處公寓的所有人，近期也未參與任何翻修。”

The American Bar Association suggests that government officials like Mr. Malkin warrant enhanced scrutiny in real estate deals, but its guidelines are voluntary. Marc Isaacs, the New York lawyer who handled the condo purchase, said his firm’s client vetting goes beyond an online search, but he would not elaborate. Asked about Mr. Malkin, Mr. Isaacs said he could not discuss specific clients.

美國律師協會(American Bar Association)表示，在房地產交易中，肯定應該對馬爾金這樣的政府官員給予更密切的關注，但該機構的指導方針是自願執行的。經手那宗共管公寓交易的紐約律師馬克·伊薩克斯(Marc Isaacs)表示，他所在的律所對客戶的審覈不只是在線搜索而已，但他不願詳細解釋。在被問及馬爾金時，伊薩克斯表示自己不能討論某個具體客戶。

The real estate agents on the Time Warner deal included Brenda S. Powers and Elizabeth L. Sample, who represent many foreign clients and who live in the building. Ms. Sample said that her focus when vetting buyers was this: “They have to have the money. Other than that, that’s it. That’s all we need.”

負責時代華納中心那筆交易的房產經紀是布倫達·S·鮑爾斯(Brenda S. Powers)和伊麗莎白·L·桑普爾(Elizabeth L. Sample)，她們就住在樓裏，代理了許多外國客戶。桑普爾表示，在審覈買家時她關注的重點是：“他們必須要有買房的錢。其他的就算了。我們只需要知道這一點。”

A Blind Eye

不聞不問

Federal banking guidelines are clear: “Banks should take all reasonable steps to ensure that they do not knowingly or unwittingly assist in hiding or moving the proceeds of corruption.” This means screening customers to determine whether they are “politically exposed people” — foreign officials and their relatives and associates — and filing a “suspicious activity report” if the customers transfer unusually large amounts of money.

聯邦銀行業指導原則說得很明白：“銀行應採取一切合理措施，確保不會在有意或無意中，協助隱藏或轉移外國高級政治人物及其親友通過腐敗獲得的收入”。也就是說，銀行應對客戶進行審查，查明他們是否是“政治敏感人物”——外國官員及其親友——並在客戶轉移鉅額資金時，提交“可疑活動報告”。

But such checks are not required on money flowing into the country through shell companies to purchase high-end real estate.

但通過空殼公司流入美國併購買高端房地產的資金，並未被要求接受這類審查。

L.L.C.s and other entities can be established in various states without revealing their true owners. Even when such companies move money through a bank account, banks are not required to know who is behind the transaction because of a loophole in the law.

在很多州，有限公司和其他企業實體成立時都可以不透露其實際所有人。因爲法律漏洞，即便在這類公司通過銀行賬戶轉移資金時，銀行也未被要求知曉相關交易的背後都有什麼人。

In many ways, the government has allowed the real estate industry to turn a blind eye to the source of money used to buy luxury properties.

在很多方面，政府允許房地產行業對購買豪華房地產的資金的來源不聞不問。

It might not have turned out this way. In the late 1990s, after congressional hearings highlighted corrupt foreign officials with money in the United States, the Justice Department sought to expand the list of industries required to screen the financial activities of politically exposed people. That included jewelry sales, hedge funds and real estate.

這種局面本來可以避免。上世紀90年代末，在多次國會聽證會讓外國腐敗官員將錢轉移至美國的問題突顯出來後，司法部(Justice Department)尋求擴充行業名單，要求被列入名單的行業審查政治敏感人物的財務活動。該名單本應包括珠寶商、對衝基金和房地產商。

The proposal gained momentum after Sept. 11, when the Justice Department pushed to make it part of the Patriot Act. The rules were included in the law and handed to the Treasury Department to put into effect.

9·11事件後，這項提案贏得了更多的支持。司法部推動其成爲《愛國者法案》(Patriot Act)的一部分。相關規定被寫進了法律，並被轉交給財政部執行。

The real estate and legal professions sprang into action, arguing that background checks were impractical and would hurt the economy. “The money-laundering risks presented by real estate closings are relatively small, compared to other types of financial assets,” the American Land Title Association said in comments on the proposed rules.

房地產和法律行業迅速行動起來，聲稱背景審查不切實際，且會損害經濟。“和其他類型的金融資產相比，房地產交易帶來的洗錢風險相對較小，”美國土地產權協會(American Land Title Association)在對監管規則提案的意見書中說。

Businesses insisted that tainted money was not likely to flow into real estate. “Anonymity and liquidity, two characteristics important to money launderers, typically do not exist in real estate transactions,” the Dechert law firm wrote.

相關企業則堅稱，不法資金不太可能流入房地產市場。“對洗錢者十分重要的匿名和流動性這兩個特徵，在房地產交易中往往不存在，”德傑律師事務所(Dechert)寫道。

The industry’s assertions ignored the increasing use of shell companies and how often wealthy foreigners sought out high-end real estate as a safe deposit box.

該行業的論斷忽略了空殼公司的使用越來越普遍，以及富有的外國人常尋找高端房地產，將其作爲安全的存款箱。

At the Time Warner Center, for instance, at least a dozen purchases would have received greater scrutiny under the expanded rules.

比如，在時代華納中心，若按照擴充後的規定，至少有12筆交易本應受到更嚴格的審查。

But the Treasury Department never imposed the requirement on real estate or some other industries. Similarly, a proposal to extend the concept of the “know your customer” banking rule to the identities of people behind L.L.C.s and other shell companies that open bank accounts has been stalled for nearly three years in the Treasury Department.

但財政部從未對房地產或其他行業實行這一要求。同樣地，另一項提議也已在財政部擱置了近三年。該提議要求將有限公司及其他開設銀行賬戶的空殼公司背後的人的身份，納入銀行業“瞭解客戶”規定的範圍。

Banking associations say it would impose undue costs on them because there are no reliable federal or state databases with shell company owners.

銀行業協會表示，這麼做會給它們帶來高昂的成本，因爲沒有可靠的聯邦或州一級空殼公司所有人數據庫。

In fact, registering shell companies has become profitable for states like Delaware and Nevada, which also have lobbied against transparency.

實際上，對遊說反對透明的特拉華和內華達等州來說，註冊空殼公司已變得有利可圖。

“I don’t see some kind of global effort to stop all this because the money’s too good,” said David M. Crane, a Syracuse University law professor who oversaw the United Nations’ effort to recover money from Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president who was convicted of war crimes and thought to have plundered his country.

“我沒看到有某種全球範圍的努力來阻止這一切的跡象，因爲收益實在太大了，”雪城大學(Syracuse University)法學教授戴維·M·克蘭(David M. Crane)說。他曾經負責監督聯合國從利比里亞前總統查爾斯·泰勒(Charles Taylor)那裏追回資金的工作。泰勒被裁定犯有戰爭罪，還被外界認爲對利比里亞進行了大肆掠奪。

A number of states do not require people forming companies to reveal the names of the owners or show any identification.

美國很多州並不要求開辦公司的人透露所有者的姓名，或出示任何身份證件。

This opacity presents challenges for law enforcement officials, who say billions of dollars in suspicious money move through shell companies each year. “It can be very, very difficult to penetrate who is the beneficial owner of these shell companies,” said Leslie R. Caldwell, chief of the Justice Department’s criminal division.

這種不透明性對執法人員提出了挑戰。美國司法部透露，每年通過本土空殼公司轉移的可疑資金數以億計。“非常、非常難以摸查到究竟誰是這些空殼公司的權益擁有人，”司法部刑事領域負責人萊斯莉·R·考德威爾(Leslie R. Caldwell)說。

She said that the department’s Kleptocracy Initiative has found that foreign officials often use shell companies or immediate family members to move large amounts of money to United States real estate.

她還表示，該部門的“反高層盜用國有資源項目”(Kleptocracy Initiative)經常發現，外國官員往往通過空殼公司或直系親屬，將大量資金投入美國的房地產行業。

In 2010, a Senate committee investigating corrupt money moving into the country drew attention to a shell company used by the sister of the president of Gabon to buy a $2 million residence in Manhattan, and to an L.L.C. used by the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea to purchase a $30 million home in Malibu, Calif.

2010年，參議院一個負責調查流入美國的貪腐款項的委員會披露，加蓬總統的姊妹利用一家空殼公司在曼哈頓購買了一處價值200萬美元的居所，而赤道幾內亞總統的兒子利用一家有限責任公司在加利福尼亞州馬里布購買了一處價值3000萬美元的房產。

The proliferation of shell companies incorporated in the United States has hurt Washington’s attempt to get other countries to crack down on Americans who move money offshore to avoid taxes.

美國政府試圖讓其他國家打擊那些爲了避稅而把錢轉移到海外的美國人。然而，在美國註冊的空殼公司氾濫，削弱了華盛頓的這種努力。

“We are in a totally inconsistent position,” said Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who pushed for transparency in shell companies when he served in the Senate. “We’re way behind in terms of keeping up with what the international standard is, and it weakens our argument when we go to try to crack down the use of these offshore tax havens.”

“我們秉持的立場完全不統一，”曾在參議院推動空殼公司透明化的密歇根州民主黨人卡爾·萊文(Carl Levin)說。“在緊跟國際標準上，我們遠遠落在後面。當我們試圖打擊美國人利用這些離岸避稅天堂的活動時，這令我們的立場遭到削弱。”

About a year ago, after the Group of 8 industrialized nations issued goals requiring identification of shell company owners, a British representative met with Justice Department officials to complain about the United States’ failure to comply.

大約一年前，工業化國家組成的八國集團發佈了要求明確空殼公司所有者的目標。之後，一名英國代表特意與美國司法部官員會面，抱怨美國沒有遵循這些要求。

According to two people at the meeting, the British representative, Dominic Martin, delivered a stern message: The lax American laws were being used by other countries as an excuse for inaction.

兩名與會者表示，英國代表多米尼克·馬丁(Dominic Martin)傳達了一條嚴厲的訊息：美國寬鬆的法律正在被其他國家用作不採取行動的藉口。

Such a message resonates with Justice Department officials who have advocated tightening the rules.

主張收緊規則的司法部官員也有同樣的看法。

“For a long time we’ve taken the view that you have to focus on the people that manage the gateway to the financial system, and those guys are not only the banks,” said Stefan Cassella, a Justice Department lawyer. “Bad guys who are trying to invest money in the financial system — they use lawyers, they use accountants, they use real estate, they use jewelers and private jets.”

“很長一段時間以來，我們都以爲，必須把側重點放在管理金融系統門戶的那些人身上，但這不僅僅包括銀行，”曾在司法部政策辦公室任律師的斯特凡·卡斯拉(Stefan Cassella)說。該部門當時在謀求讓《愛國者法案》採納涵蓋面更廣的金融規則。“壞人試圖將資金投入到美國金融體系中——他們會聘請律師和會計師，會利用房地產、珠寶和私人飛機。”

Transactions amid Investigations

調查正進行，交易仍如常

Just two months after the collapse of the Ponzi scheme run by Bernard L. Madoff in 2008, another Ponzi schemer was arrested: James Nicholson, whose Time Warner condominium was frozen. Mr. Nicholson’s $8.5 million unit would become the only one in the complex to be seized and sold off by law enforcement officials, even though other owners have been accused of wrongdoing. The difference is that Mr. Nicholson is an American citizen.

2008年，伯納德·L·麥道夫(Bernard L. Madoff)的龐氏騙局崩塌短短兩個月後，另一個龐氏騙局的主腦詹姆斯·尼科爾森(James Nicholson)遭到了逮捕，其位於時代華納中心第52層的公寓也被查封。尼科爾森的這套公寓價值850萬美元。它成爲了樓中唯一一所遭執法官員收繳和拋售的公寓，雖然也有其他業主被指控從事了不法行爲。所不同的是，尼科爾森爲美國公民。

Foreigners who buy real estate in the United States often have an easier time keeping it out of the reach of investigators, victims and plaintiffs back home.

在美國購置房產的外國人，往往更容易避開本國的調查機構、受害者和原告對這些房產的追討。

Take the case of Pablo Ardila, a former provincial governor in Colombia known for hunting trophies and lavish spending. Mr. Ardila acknowledged to The Times in 2004 that he and his parents had set up a shell company to buy a $4 million condo in the building. In 2007, while he was in office, Mr. Ardila was arrested and immediately jailed by local officials on charges of enriching himself illicitly.

巴勃羅·阿迪拉(Pablo Ardila)就是一個這樣的例子。他曾是哥倫比亞的一名省長，出了名地喜歡戰利品狩獵和奢侈消費。阿迪拉本人在2004年向時報承認，爲了購買這棟大樓中一所售價400萬美元的公寓，他和父母成立了一家空殼公司。2007年，當他還在任上時，哥倫比亞官員指控他中飽私囊，將其逮捕並隨即監禁起來。

While Mr. Ardila was behind bars, the shell company sold the condo, making a $2 million profit. By then, the forwarding address on property records was no longer in Colombia, but went to a Jhon Ballesteros, in Weston, Fla. John Burger, a real estate agent who represented the seller, said recently that he did not know Mr. Ardila was involved.

當阿迪拉身陷囹圄時，這家空殼公司出售了這所公寓，賺取了200萬美元的利潤。到了此時，房產記錄裏登記的轉發地址已經不再位於哥倫比亞，而是指向了佛羅里達州韋斯頓的霍內·巴列斯特羅斯(Jhon Ballesteros)。代表賣家的房地產經紀人約翰·伯格(John Burger)在接受採訪時說，他甚至都不知道阿迪拉牽涉其中。

An extensive Colombian government analysis of Mr. Ardila’s holdings filed in court failed to unearth the Time Warner condo.

哥倫比亞政府向法庭提交了一份報告，對阿迪拉持有的資產進行了詳盡的分析，但未能挖掘出這套位於時代華納中心的公寓。

Despite international agreements, the authorities in smaller countries have difficulty recovering assets from abroad. “Judges in Colombia have been struggling a lot to get this money back to Colombia,” said Elisabeth Ungar Bleier, executive director of the Colombia branch of Transparency International, an anticorruption nonprofit.

儘管存在國際合作協議，但小國政府卻難以從境外追回資產。“哥倫比亞的法官非常努力地想把這筆錢追回，”伊麗莎白·溫加爾·布萊爾(Elisabeth Ungar Bleier)說。她是倡導反腐的非營利組織透明國際(Transparency International)哥倫比亞分部的執行總監。

Mr. Ardila was released from jail after two years and nine months without having been convicted. However, Arnulfo Mendez Castro, a spokesman for Colombian prosecutors, said Mr. Ardila was still under investigation.

在看守所待了兩年零九個月後，阿迪拉獲得釋放，並未定罪。然而，哥倫比亞檢察部門發言人阿努爾福·門德斯·卡斯特羅(Arnulfo Mendez Castro)表示，阿迪拉仍在接受調查。

Mr. Ardila’s lawyer, Mauricio Cristancho, said his client was the victim of “an absurd prosecution.” Despite what Mr. Ardila had told The Times about the condo, the lawyer said, the unit belonged to Mr. Ardila’s father, a wealthy businessman. He said Mr. Ballesteros, who did not reply to inquiries, was an assistant to the family.

關於這所公寓，不管阿迪拉對時報的說法如何，他的律師毛裏齊奧·克里斯坦喬(Mauricio Cristancho)表示，公寓屬於阿迪拉的富商父親。他說，阿迪拉是“一起荒謬訴訟”的受害人，而巴列斯特羅斯是阿迪拉家族的一名助理。巴列斯特羅斯未迴應詢問。