那些隱跡于紐約奢華公寓的全球富豪(1)

On the 74th floor of the Time Warner Center,Condominium 74B was purchased in 2010 for $15.65million by a secretive entity called 25CC ST74BL.L.C. It traces to the family of Vitaly Malkin, a formerRussian senator and banker who was barred fromentering Canada because of suspected connectionsto organized crime.

2010年，位于時代華納中心(Time Warner Center)74層編號為74B的共管公寓被以1565萬美元(約合9800萬元人民幣)的價格售出，買主是一家名為25CC ST74B有限公司的秘密實體。該實體可以追溯到前俄羅斯參議員、銀行家維塔利·馬爾金(Vitaly Malkin)的家族。因為涉嫌與有組織犯罪有關聯(lián)，馬爾金曾被禁止進入加拿大。

Last fall, another shell company bought a condo down the hall for $21.4 million from a Greekbusinessman named Dimitrios Contominas, who was arrested a year ago as part of acorruption sweep in Greece.

去年秋天，另一家空殼公司出資2140萬美元，從名為迪米特里奧斯·孔托米納斯(Dimitrios Contominas)的希臘商人手里買下了同一樓層的另一套共管公寓。一年前，孔托米納斯在希臘的一場反腐行動中被捕。

 

 

A few floors down are three condos owned by another shell company, Columbus Skyline L.L.C.,which belongs to the family of a Chinese businessman and contractor named Wang Wenliang.His construction company was found housing workers in New Jersey in hazardous, unsanitaryconditions.

往下幾層，是另一家空殼公司“哥倫布天際線”(Columbus Skyline L.L.C.)擁有的三套共管公寓。該公司屬于一個名為王文良的中國商人的家族。在新澤西州，這位承包商的建筑公司被發(fā)現(xiàn)讓工人住在危險且不衛(wèi)生的地方。

Behind the dark glass towers of the Time Warner Center looming over Central Park, a majorityof owners have taken steps to keep their identities hidden, registering condos in trusts, limitedliability companies or other entities that shield their names. By piercing the secrecy of morethan 200 shell companies, The New York Times documented a decade of ownership in thisiconic Manhattan way station for global money transforming the city’s real estate market.

時代華納中心俯瞰著中央公園。在其裝飾著暗色玻璃幕墻的大樓背后，大部分業(yè)主竭盡全力地不讓自己的身份泄漏，將公寓登記在信托機構、有限責任公司或其他能隱藏他們姓名的實體名下。通過揭開200多家空殼公司的秘密，《紐約時報》記錄了曼哈頓這棟標志性建筑十年里的所有權情況。全球資本改變著這座城市的房地產市場，而這里則是供這些資本駐足的一處驛站。

Many of the owners represent a cross-section of American wealth: chief executives andcelebrities, doctors and lawyers, technology entrepreneurs and Wall Street traders.

許多業(yè)主代表了美國富人階層的一個橫截面：高管和名流，醫(yī)生和律師，科技行業(yè)企業(yè)家和華爾街上的操盤手。

But The Times also found a growing proportion of wealthy foreigners, at least 16 of whomhave been the subject of government inquiries around the world, either personally or as headsof companies. The cases range from housing and environmental violations to financial fraud.Four owners have been arrested, and another four have been the subject of fines or penaltiesfor illegal activities.

但時報也發(fā)現(xiàn)，有錢的外國人所占比例越來越高，其中至少16人是政府調查的對象，不是以個人的身份，就是以公司老板的身份。已有四名業(yè)主被捕，另有四人因違法活動而被處以罰款或其他懲戒措施。

The foreign owners have included government officials and close associates of officials fromRussia, Colombia, Malaysia, China, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

外國業(yè)主包括來自俄羅斯、哥倫比亞、馬來西亞、中國、哈薩克斯坦和墨西哥的政府官員及其親信。

They have been able to make these multimillion-dollar purchases with few questions askedbecause of United States laws that foster the movement of largely untraceable money throughshell companies.

他們得以豪擲數以百萬計的美元購買房產卻幾乎未遭到質疑，是因為美國的法律促進了這些資金的流動。通過空殼公司，這些資金基本上無跡可尋。

Vast sums are flowing unchecked around the world as never before — whether motivated bycorruption, tax avoidance or investment strategy, and enabled by an ever-more-borderlesseconomy and a proliferation of ways to move and hide assets.

大量資金正前所未有地在全球不受約束地流動，其動機可能是腐敗和避稅，也可能是投資戰(zhàn)略，而經濟越來越不分國界，轉移和隱藏資產的途徑也在激增，使得這種流動成為可能。

Alighting in places like London, Singapore and other financial centers, this flood of capital hascreated colonies of the foreign super-rich, with the attendant resentments and controversiesabout class inequality made tangible in the glass and steel towers reordering urbanlandscapes.

這股資本洪流來到倫敦、新加坡和其他金融中心，催生了外國超級富人的專屬地帶，隨之而來的是怨恨之情和有關階級不平等的爭議。在重塑城市面貌的玻璃和鋼鐵大樓里，階級不平等變得有形起來。

Where it made landfall in New York, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, was the Time WarnerCenter. More than a decade on, even as a row of sky-piercing palaces rises on the southernrim of Central Park, the Time Warner Center remains the New York archetype of the globalphenomenon, reflecting intertwined trends — the increasing sums of foreign money in high-end real estate and the growing use of shell companies.

在紐約，9·11襲擊過后，這股資本洪流選擇了時代華納中心作為著陸地。即便十多年過去了，中央公園的南邊也建起了一排摩天大樓，時代華納中心一直是這種全球化現(xiàn)象在紐約的典型代表，反映了相互交織的趨勢：流入高端房地產市場的外國資金日越來越多，使用空殼公司的做法愈演愈烈。

About $8 billion is spent each year for New York City residences that cost more than $5 millioneach, more than triple the amount of a decade ago, according to the website PropertyShark.Just over half of those sales last year were to shell companies.

根據PropertyShark網站的數據，紐約市售價超過500萬美元的共管公寓每年的銷售額為80億美元左右，是10年前水平的三倍還多。去年售出的此類共管公寓中，超過一半被賣給了空殼公司。

The Times examination reveals the workings of an opaque economy for this global wealth.Lacking incentive or legal obligation to identify the sources of money, an entire chain ofpeople involved in high-end real estate sales — lawyers, accountants, title brokers, escrowagents, real estate agents, condo boards and building workers — often operate with blinderson. As Rudy Tauscher, a former manager of the condos at Time Warner, said: “The buildingdoesn’t know where the money is coming from. We’re not interested.”

時報的研究結果揭示了一個不透明的經濟體獲取海外財富的運作機制。由于缺乏相應的動機，也沒有法律上的義務，參與高端房產銷售的一系列人員——律師、會計、經紀商、代管代理、房地產中介、公管公寓董事會和建筑工人——通常對自己職責之外的情況一無所知。正如時代華納中心前公管公寓管理者魯迪·陶舍爾(RudyTauscher)所說：“大樓里的工作人員不知道錢是從哪來的，我們也不感興趣。”

As an indication of how well-cloaked shell company ownership is, it took The Times morethan a year to unravel the ownership of shell companies with condos in the Time WarnerCenter, by searching business and court records from more than 20 countries, interviewingdozens of people with close knowledge of the complex, examining hundreds of propertyrecords and connecting the dots from lawyers or relatives named on deeds to the actualbuyers.

空殼公司的所有權結構被掩蓋得密不透風：為了揭開在時代華納中心擁有共管公寓的空殼公司的所有權結構，時報花了超過一年的時間，搜索了20多個國家的商業(yè)和法庭記錄，采訪了數十位了解該樓盤的人士，研究了數以百計的公開地產記錄，將出現(xiàn)在房契上的律師或親屬姓名與真正的買主對應了起來。

Yet in some cases it is nearly impossible to establish with certainty the source of moneybehind shell companies. Purchasers can register shell companies in the names of accountants,lawyers or relatives. Purchases are often made not just by individuals but on behalf of groups ofinvestors or numerous family members, further obscuring the origin of the funds. What ismore, ownership of shell companies can be shifted at any time, with no indication inproperty records.

然而有些時候，要想確定空殼公司背后的資金來源幾乎是不可能的。購房者可以使用會計、律師或親屬的名字來注冊一家空殼公司。購買公寓的通常不光是個人，還有投資者團體和大量的購房者家庭成員，這讓購房資金的來源變得更加模糊。此外，空殼公司的所有權可以隨時轉移，不會顯示在房產記錄上。

The high-end real estate market has become less and less transparent — and more alluringfor those abroad with assets they wish to keep anonymous — even as the United Statespushes other nations to help stanch the flow of American money leaving the country to avoidtaxes. Yet for all the concerns of law enforcement officials that shell companies can hide illicitgains, regulatory efforts to require more openness from these companies have failed.

高端房地產市場已經變得越來越不透明，對于想要隱瞞財富的海外人士也更加具有吸引力，雖然與此同時，美國正在敦促其他國家?guī)椭约褐棺∫员芏悶槟康牡馁Y金外流。盡管執(zhí)法官員非常擔心空殼公司為非法所得提供了掩護，要求更大公開性的努力都未獲成功。

“We like the money,” said Raymond Baker, the president of Global Financial Integrity, aWashington nonprofit that tracks the illicit flow of money. “It’s that simple. We like the moneythat comes into our accounts, and we are not nearly as judgmental about it as we should be.”

“他們就是想賺錢，”華盛頓的非營利機構全球金融誠信組織(Global Financial Integrity)的負責人雷蒙德·貝克(Raymond Baker)說。該機構會對非法資金的流動進行追蹤。“就這么簡單。他們喜歡別人把錢打進自己的賬戶里，因此就不會像平常一樣嚴格。”

In some ways, officials are clamoring for the foreign wealthy. In New York, tax breaks forcondominium developments benefit owners looking for a second, or third, residence in one ofManhattan’s premier buildings. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on his weekly radio program in2013, shortly before leaving office: “If we could get every billionaire around the world to movehere, it would be a godsend.”

在一些方面，政府正在竭盡全力地吸引外國的富人。在紐約，從共管公寓開發(fā)項目的稅收優(yōu)惠中受益的，是那些想要在曼哈頓的高檔建筑內尋找第二套或第三套住宅的人。2013年，在即將卸任之際，紐約市長邁克爾·R·布隆伯格(Michael R. Bloomberg)在自己每周的廣播節(jié)目中說：“如果我們能讓全世界的億萬富翁都搬到這座城市來，那可真是天大的好事。”

Among the Time Warner Center owners identified by The Times are at least 17 billionaires onForbes magazine’s annual list of the world’s richest people. Five of the world’s leading artcollectors own units, as do eight people who have been chief executives of major companies.And it has been home to numerous celebrities, including the singers Jimmy Buffett and RickyMartin, the New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the talk show host Kelly Ripa.

在時報查明身份的時代華納中心公寓的業(yè)主中，有至少17位曾登上《福布斯》(Forbes)雜志的年度富豪榜。五位世界頂尖的藝術收藏家，以及八位大型公司的首席高管擁有時代華納中心的單位。這里還居住過大量名人，包括歌手吉米·巴菲特(Jimmy Buffett)和瑞奇·馬丁(Ricky Martin)，新英格蘭愛國者隊的四分衛(wèi)湯姆·布雷迪(Tome Brady)，以及脫口秀節(jié)目主持人凱莉·里帕(Kelly Ripa)。

A look behind some doors revealed more complicated tales.

有些公寓的主人還有著更為復雜的背景。

Units 72B and 51E are owned by the Amantea Corporation, which The Times traced to a miningmagnate named Anil Agarwal. His company was fined for polluting a major river near a coppermine in Zambia, which sickened nearby residents. And judicial committees in his native Indiadetermined that his company had violated the land rights of an indigenous tribe near aproposed mine.

公寓72B和51E的所有者是Amantea Corporation，時報發(fā)現(xiàn)，這家公司的所有者是來自印度的礦業(yè)巨頭安尼爾·阿加瓦爾(Anil Agarwal)。阿加瓦爾的公司污染了贊比亞一處銅礦附近的主要河流，導致周圍的居民患病，因此遭到罰款。此外，印度本國的一個司法委員會認定，他的公司侵犯了一個土著部落的土地權利，只因為該部落妨礙了采礦活動。

When Anna Ai Fang purchased Condominium 58E in 2004 for $2.1 million, the forwardingaddress on the deed was a decidedly more modest location: her dorm, Ruggles Hall, atColumbia University. At the time, her father, Fang Fenglei, had ended a long career runningstate-affiliated banks in China and would soon begin working for Goldman Sachs.

當方愛之(Anna Ai Fang)2004年以210萬美元的價格購買了公寓58E時，她在房契上填寫的轉收地址絕對是相當低調，那是她在哥倫比亞大學(Columbia University)拉格爾斯廳(Ruggles Hall)的宿舍。當時，她的父親方風雷已經結束了在多家中國國有銀行的漫長職業(yè)生涯，很快將入職高盛(Goldman Sachs)。

Unit 62CE belongs to Prime International Management Group, which in turn is controlled byAlexander Varshavsky, who runs auto dealerships in Russia.

公寓62CE的所有方是Prime International Management Group，該集團由亞歷山大·瓦爾沙夫斯基(Alexander Varshavsky)所掌控。此人在俄羅斯經營著多家汽車銷售公司。

Few, if any, questions were raised by those involved in the deal when Mr. Varshavsky paid cashfor the 4,300-square-foot apartment. But his condo shopping did not go unnoticed.

當瓦爾沙夫斯基用現(xiàn)金全款購買了這套面積4300平方英尺的公寓時，參與這筆交易的人員幾乎沒有提出任何疑問。不過，他購買共管公寓的舉動并非沒有引起注意。

“Agents observed defendant Varshavsky enter several buildings in the Central Park area with areal estate agent, including 25 Columbus Circle, New York, New York,” according to a criminalcomplaint filed in federal court in Newark, recounting surveillance by federal agents at the TimeWarner Center. “In June 2011 defendant Varshavsky purchased an apartment located at thataddress for approximately $20.5 million in cash.”

“一些特工發(fā)現(xiàn)，被告瓦爾沙夫斯基與一名房地產中介進入了中央公園區(qū)域的幾棟大樓里，包括紐約州紐約市哥倫布環(huán)島(Columbus Circle)的25號樓，”紐瓦克聯(lián)邦法院收到的一份刑事訴狀上說。這份訴狀記錄了聯(lián)邦特工在時代華納中心的監(jiān)視活動。“2011年6月，被告瓦爾沙夫斯基以大約2050萬美元的價格，現(xiàn)金全款購買了那里的一套公寓。”

In December 2013, Mr. Varshavsky, who is now a United States citizen, was charged with failingto report the existence of a foreign bank account. A lawyer for Mr. Varshavsky disputed theallegations and said he expected the complaint to be dropped.

瓦爾沙夫斯基現(xiàn)在是美國公民。2013年12月，他被指控隱瞞了自己的一個海外銀行賬戶。瓦爾沙夫斯基的一名律師否認了這些指控，并表示預計這項控訴將會被撤銷。

Meanwhile the case is pending, and Mr. Varshavsky posted bail — his Time Warner condo.

在案子等待判決期間，瓦爾沙夫斯基為獲得保釋抵押了他在時代華納中心的公寓。

Ownership Becomes Opaque

神秘的所有權

It was not all that long ago that Columbus Circle was the makeshift residence of dozens ofhomeless people squatting at the site of the abandoned New York Coliseum, the Robert Moses-era convention center.

就在不久之前，哥倫布環(huán)島還曾是幾十名流浪者的臨時住所，他們占據了紐約會議中心(New York Coliseum)的遺址，那里是羅伯特·摩斯(Robert Moses)時代舉行會議的地方。

The demolition of the coliseum and the creation of the Time Warner Center — two residentialtowers with a retail atrium, corporate offices and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel — transformedthe area into a vibrant shopping and dining destination in the aftermath of the Sept. 11attacks. The condos also sparked development of a billionaires row of residential towersoverlooking Central Park.

在9·11襲擊之后，這座會議中心的拆除和時代華納中心的落成把該地區(qū)變成了一個繁忙的購物餐飲中心。時代華納中心包括兩棟高層公寓建筑，中庭是一些零售商店，樓內還有企業(yè)辦公室以及文華東方酒店(MandarinOriental Hotel)。這些共管公寓引領了一系列俯瞰中央公園的豪華住宅樓的開發(fā)。

By marketing the condos to wealthy foreigners, Time Warner’s developer was at the forefrontof luring cash from overseas to New York real estate. Twenty-six percent of the original saleswere to people from other countries, a proportion that has grown to more than half amongrecent buyers. The complex’s dark glass exterior offers a sheen of both exclusivity andsecrecy.

通過把這些共管公寓推銷給富有的國際買家，時代華納的開發(fā)商站在了為紐約地產行業(yè)吸引海外資金的前沿。新公寓首次出售時，26%被賣給了海外買家，這個比例目前已經增長到了超過一半 。建筑外的深色玻璃幕墻為公寓的專屬性和私密性提供了保障。