Final Defense Arguments of U.S. Lawyers and Alavi Foundation Before Jury Verdict

A U.S. government lawyer in the Alavi Foundation case stated on Monday to the jury members in a New York court that the true owner of the Alavi Foundation is Iran, and the building belonging to this foundation should be confiscated. According to the Associated Press, Michelle Lockard, an assistant U.S. attorney, expressed confidence that the U.S. government has proven this issue through witness testimonies and documents, and the Alavi Foundation must relinquish its 60 percent share of a 36-story skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in New York. Michelle Lockard emphasized that Iran has been the actual owner of this building and that the Alavi Foundation has violated U.S. sanctions laws for the past 22 years by concealing its relations with Iran. In response, John Glinson, the lawyer for the Alavi Foundation, rejected the government's lawyer's statements. He stated that the government began its investigation into the Alavi Foundation with bias and had reached a definitive conclusion before collecting documents and evidence. He further referred to the government's approach in this regard and presented parts of the government's conclusions on this matter. According to the report, the jury members are set to announce on Tuesday, July 6, whether the Alavi Foundation has violated sanctions against Iran. The Associated Press states that the U.S. government aims to sell this building and other assets it holds from Iran to pay part of the five billion dollar compensation to the families of terrorism victims. The federal court in Manhattan, New York, announced on Tuesday, May 30, that it had begun the final phase of the Alavi Foundation case. Initially, a federal court in the U.S. issued a ruling for the confiscation and sale of this skyscraper in September 2013 due to violations of U.S. sanctions against Iran. The federal court had previously issued orders to confiscate the assets of the Alavi Foundation and the Asa company in other U.S. states, including Maryland, California, Texas, and Virginia. The New York District Attorney's Office at that time announced that the Alavi Foundation and Asa companies were front businesses for the National Bank and had transferred nearly 40 million dollars of the skyscraper's revenues to the accounts of the National Bank and the Iranian government. In April 2015, Judge Katherine Forrest ruled that the families of the victims of 'terrorist attacks' were entitled to compensation through the confiscation of this skyscraper. According to this judge, after the 1979 revolution, the new Iranian government took control of this skyscraper and created several new front companies to keep its ownership of the building behind the scenes. However, a New York appellate court in July 2016 overturned the confiscation and sale ruling of the Asa Tower and other buildings belonging to the Alavi Foundation.