Iran Owns a Manhattan Skyscraper? Feds Set to Seiz Building

The United States is set to seize control of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper prosecutors claim is secretly owned by Iran, the justice department said, though the ruling is to be appealed.

The seizure and sale of the 36-story building, in the heart of New York City on Fifth Avenue, would be "the largest-ever terrorism-related forfeiture," the statement added.

A federal judge ruled in favor of the government's suit this week, saying the building's owners had violated Iran sanctions and money laundering laws.
Manhattan Federal Prosecutor Preet Bharara said the decision upholds the justice department claims the owner of the building "was (and is) a front for Bank Melli, and thus a front for the Government of Iran."

Bharara said the funds from selling the building would provide "a means of compensating victims of Iranian-sponsored terrorism."

Prosecutors allege the building's owners, the Alavi Foundation and Assa Corporation, transferred rental income and other funds to Iran's state-owned Bank Melli.

Alavi also ran a charitable organization for Iran and managed the building for the Iranian government, the statement said.

Built in the 1970s by a non-profit operated by the Shah of Iran -- and financed with a Bank Melli loan -- the building was expropriated by the new Iranian government after the 1979 revolution, prosecutors allege.

They said the Shah's non-profit, the Pahlavi Foundation, was renamed the Mostazafan Foundation of New York and then the Alavi Foundation.

A former president of the Alavi foundation pleaded guilty in 2009 to obstructing justice in destroying evidence related to the case, which was first filed in 2008.

The Alavi foundation plans to appeal, saying on its website it was "disappointed" with the ruling and that "it did not have the opportunity to rebut the Government evidence before a jury."

The US Treasury Department has instituted tight sanctions against Iran, blacklisting a number of Iranian companies and organizations and putting controls on the ability of any group or business to transfer funds into Iran.

The restrictions seek to pressure Tehran into giving up what the West says is a program to develop nuclear weapons.

Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved

Manufacturing in U.S. is increasing, the economy is keeping pace

Below is part of an article put out by Bloomberg.net. Because it deals with accounts receivables, manufacturing and stabilization of the economy we have posted it here for you to read.

Manufacturing in the U.S. expanded at a faster pace than forecast in February, reaching the highest level since June 2011 as factories boosted production.

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index advanced to 54.2, from 53.1 in January, the Tempe, Arizona-based group said today. The figures exceeded the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey in which the median projection was 52.5. A reading greater than 50 signals expansion.

Orders expanded the most in almost two years, the report showed, as manufacturers such as Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) emerged from an industry setback in the second half of 2012. The production gains complement a rebound in the housing market and help underpin the economy amid budget disputes in Washington.

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“There is some momentum being built in manufacturing,” said Tom Simons, an economist at Jefferies Group Inc. in New York, whose forecast of 54 was the highest in the Bloomberg survey. “It’s encouraging that pent-up investment demand is finally being released after being restrained by the fiscal cliff.”

Stocks trimmed losses after the figures. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped 0.1 percent to 1,512.46 at 10:35 a.m. in New York, after falling as much as 0.9 percent earlier.

Estimates from the 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg ranged from 50.5 to 54. The gauge averaged 51.7 in 2012 and 55.2 in 2011.

 

Reporter who contributed to this story: Alex Kowalski in Washington at akowalski13  @bloomberg.net

Original article can be found at: Bloomberg