A Jury in New York Court Rules to Seize 'Skyscraper Owned by Iran'

A federal court jury in New York announced on Thursday, July 8, that an Iranian-American charity foundation violated the sanctions of the Islamic Republic and ruled to confiscate a 'skyscraper owned by Iran.' According to the Associated Press, the jury in Manhattan concluded that U.S. government defense attorneys proved that the Alavi Foundation concealed Iran's role in controlling the skyscraper located at 650 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York. The jury stated that the U.S. government demonstrated that this building was involved in money laundering and sanction violations. John Kim, the acting attorney for the U.S. government, stated that this ruling allows the U.S. government to seize the 36-story building on Fifth Avenue. He added that the building is valued at $500 million, which is considered the largest penalty related to terrorist activities in U.S. history. Reuters assessed the value of this building to be nearly $1 billion. Michelle Lacarde, an assistant federal prosecutor, argued on July 6 that the U.S. government has proven Iran's ownership of this building through witness testimony and documents, and the Alavi Foundation must relinquish its 60% share of the mentioned skyscraper. She emphasized that Iran is the true owner of this building, and the Alavi Foundation has violated U.S. sanctions laws by concealing its ties to Iran over the past 22 years. The U.S. government aims to use the confiscated assets belonging to Iran to pay part of the $5 billion compensation judgments issued by U.S. courts due to Tehran's role in 'terrorist incidents' to the families of the victims. The Alavi Foundation's defense attorneys have not yet commented on this matter. The New York District Attorney previously stated that the Alavi Foundation and the 'Asa' company are front offices for the National Bank and have transferred nearly $40 million of the skyscraper's revenues to the accounts of the National Bank and the Iranian government. The Alavi Foundation was established in 1973 as the Pahlavi Foundation by Mohammad Reza Shah. The mission of this foundation is to promote Iranian and Islamic studies in the United States and also to assist schools and free clinics. The building at 650 was constructed in 1978 at the behest of the Shah of Iran to serve as a revenue-generating location. After the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the fall of the Shah, the Islamic Republic government replaced many members of the Alavi Foundation's board of directors. In this context, the Manhattan court ruled to seize the Alavi Foundation's building in New York. The New York appellate court overturned the ruling on the seizure of the Alavi Foundation's assets. The last defenses of the U.S. attorneys and the Alavi Foundation were presented before the jury's ruling. The U.S. government and plaintiffs reached an agreement regarding the Alavi building in New York. The Iranian Foreign Ministry deemed the seizure of the Alavi Foundation's assets illegal. Iran is to pay $1.75 billion to the families of 'terror victims.' Representatives of the parliament reacted to the restart of the Alavi skyscraper seizure trial.