The Russians Keep Coming

The Russians keep coming, buying up pricey New York City real estate with their dirty money. Mayor Bill de Blasio tells BuzzFeed that he finds the trend “distressing,” but says he doesn’t know how to stem the flow of what he describes as “ill-gotten gains.” 

De Blasio's comments come as the city faces a seemingly intractable crisis of affordable housing. The mayor campaigned for his first term on closing the income gap between rich and poor in New York City, but solving the issue of once-affordable neighborhoods becoming unaffordable for many has eluded him. Put another way, gentrification, with a boost from foreign investors, is a juggernaut that appears unstoppable, from downtown Manhattan to Harlem to Brooklyn and now to Queens. Many residents of the Bronx fear they’re next.

After pointing out that wealthy investors from Russia and other countries have been laundering money by buying New York City real estate, BuzzFeed news editor Ben Smith asked de Blasio, "Do you see that as a problem?" 

"I see Russian oligarchs as a problem," the mayor replied. "I think what has happened in Russia is deeply deeply troubling across the board. Let's go to the root of it. What's happening in Russia in general, the fact that that oligarchy, that people who basically stole the wealth of their country with the help of their government. As people with a lot of ill-gotten gains buying a lot of property, I don't like it one bit. I wish I had a specific law or approach to address it. I haven't found one yet." (See a video of the interview here.)

De Blasio neglected to mention that last year the U.S. Treasury Department began requiring that LLCs, or shell companies, must divulge the names of individual buyers paying cash for co-ops and condos valued at $3 million or more in New York City and Miami. “We are seeking to understand the risk that corrupt foreign officials or transnational criminals may be using premium U.S. real estate to secretly invest millions in dirty money,” said Federal Crimes Enforcement Network director Jennifer Shasky Calvery.