US gov't to seize Manhattan skyscraper over owners' ties to Iran.

US gov't to seize Manhattan skyscraper over owners' ties to Iran.(JPost).

The US government is set to seize control of a skyscraper in midtown Manhattan that prosecutors claim is secretly owned by Iran, AFP reported on Wednesday.

In a statement to the press, the US Justice Department said the seizure and sale of the 36-story 650 Fifth Avenue building would be “the largest-ever terrorism-related forfeiture.”

The funds from selling the 382,500 square-foot building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and West 52nd Street would be directed as compensation for victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism, Manhattan Federal prosecutor Preet Bharara was quoted by AFP as saying.

Last week, a federal judge ruled that the owners of the building violated US laws against doing business with Iran, though the ruling could still be appealed.

US District Judge Katherine Forrest found that the majority owner of the building, the Alavi Foundation, knew that two minority owners were fronts for Iran's Bank Melli, in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and US money laundering laws.


Alavi and Assa provided services to Iran, such as transferring rental income to Bank Melli, in violation of IEEPA, according to the lawsuit. The building generated close to $39 million in rental income from 1999 through 2007, according to the lawsuit.Read the full story here.