703 owners of units in seven Trump buildings are LLCs, having the ability to hide their identities

[Miles Archer]

A Reuters review has found that at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida, according to public documents, interviews and corporate records.

The buyers include politically connected businessmen, such as a former executive in a Moscow-based state-run construction firm that works on military and intelligence facilities, the founder of a St. Petersburg investment bank and the co-founder of a conglomerate with interests in banking, property and electronics.

People from the second and third tiers of Russian power have invested in the Trump buildings as well. One recently posted a photo of himself with the leader of a Russian motorcycle gang that was sanctioned by the United States for its alleged role in Moscow’s seizure of Crimea.

The tally of investors from Russia may be conservative. The analysis found that at least 703 – or about one-third – of the owners of the 2044 units in the seven Trump buildings are limited liability companies, or LLCs, which have the ability to hide the identity of a property’s true owner. And the nationality of many buyers could not be determined. Russian-Americans who did not use a Russian address or passport in their purchases were not included in the tally.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/report-russian-elite-invested-nearly-100-million-in-trump-buildings-records-show_us_58cc8d96e4b0be71dcf50fc6?mou1ql2raaq93sor&

[Sanity Claws]

1. Hiding behind a LLC is also a good way to launder money.

[dumbcat]

2. It's also the way that

most intelligent, wealthy people own significant property interests.

Not to take away from the point of the OP, but there is nothing unusual about property being owned by LLCs.

[Blue_true]

4. I own an LLC. My name is attached to it and tax filing must list it and income.

An LLC does not allow anyone to hide from a competent investigator.

Some of the businesses renting in Trump Tower could be smallish, individual or family owned businesses that register as an LLC to simply governance of the business. And I am not remotely a fan of Trump, I despise him.

[Miles Archer]

11. In a Republican-led House and Senate, there will be no competent investigators. n/t

[Miles Archer]

10. True, unless you're Donald Trump doing business with LLCs.

Point of the post is that any or all of those folks could be exactly the kind a President should not be associating with.

I don't see Trump as an intelligent, wealthy person. I see him as a snake with plenty to hide.

Hence, ideal situation for a guy like him.

[lindysalsagal]

3. The FBI can trace it, with congressional directive.

[Blue_true]

5. Anyone willing to spend 30 minutes on the State Corporations site can trace an LLC ownership.

The Op is a red herring that shows no understanding of what an LLC is.

[Wounded Bear]

6. It is my understanding that nobody in Russia attains much wealth at all...

without some kind of reckoning to Putin.

If they're Russian and rich, they're probably crooked, or at least compromised.

[Igel]

7. Yes and no.

It depends if it's important and if it's foreseen.

Take Kaspersky. Perhaps, because the founder has KGB connections, they may still exist; on the other hand, the problem with the last gen of apparatchiki is that they were there for the pay and perks not for the cause. Same for a lot of CPSU/KPSS members. When there was a wave of Russia immigrants in the '90s, the classic response--entirely accurate--is that party membership in 1985 was not what it meant in 1955.

At the same time, here's another example. A textbook producer was doing reasonably well. He produced the high-quality books and they were in demand; his business was growing. Suddenly he saw his funding sources dry up, and there was an investigation which suspended his sales, and for which he had to put up collateral lest he flee the country. The triple-whammy tied up all his existing resources, prevented finding new resources, and since he still had expenses he had to sell. He sold for kopecks on the ruble to a Friend of Putin. A week later, when the deal was finalized, the investigation was dropped and the FOP got a hefty government placed a large order for textbooks. His next order of business was to try to get funds to go to court to free up his collateral. By the time that was done, he was essentially broke. Big government, done big.

The guy was wealthy before the investigation, so gaining wealth in some fields is perfectly possible. Sometimes holding it is the problem. The textbook publisher was a 100%-Russian company with no overseas connections (unlike Kaspersky, separately incorporated in both countries). It's also a Eurasian nightmare, having the dominant textbook manufacturer able to say what, exactly, goes into the textbooks. Governments like to control what the kids are taught; with Putin it's just more obvious. Control what goes into the kids at age 10, teach the prevailing morality and values system, and you strongly influence what they do when they're 20 and 30 and voting. It's classic.

It's also the case that a lot of Russians that did make money moved it abroad to keep their money from a government which, by the use of the legal system and banks of government-paid lawyers, could easily bankrupt all but the most wealthy. And since the courts often give more credence to the government than to citizens, even the most wealthy could land in prison.

[Wounded Bear]

8. So it's kind of a "get rich, but not too rich" and not in the wrong industry...

[Igel]

9. So we know 3% are Russians.

3%.

We also know that those buying in new "real estate" like this are most likely seeking a place in a new venue or just have new(ish) money. Old wealth is likely to already have what they want. I doubt Trump was trendy among old wealth that caused them to dump their old lavish digs and transfer.

3% seems low. But how much is reasonable, dunno. It's also the case that having bought, they own it. It's like the loyalty your car dealership owes to you when it knows that (a) it has no service department and (b) you're not likely to buy another car from them, ever. The best loyalty buys them is word of mouth.

I esp. like what's the equivalent of "somebody bought this car, and years later it turns out they had a picture taken with somebody trendy because of nationalism and despotism, so the car dealership must be agree with the nationalism and despotism." Joe, McCarthy, eat your heart out. Apparently it's progressive to be HUACky these days.