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(shí)代華納中心(Time Warner Center)74層編號(hào)為74B的共管公寓被以1565萬(wàn)美元(約合9800萬(wàn)元人民幣)的價(jià)格售出，買(mǎi)主是一家名為25CC ST74B有限公司的秘密實(shí)體。該實(shí)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?yàn)樯嫦优c有組織犯罪有關(guān)聯(lián)，馬爾金曾被禁止進(jìn)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(wàn)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(mǎi)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(chǎng)反腐行動(dòng)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(gè)名為王文良的中國(guó)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(xiǎn)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(shí)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(jī)構(gòu)、有限責(zé)任公司或其他能隱藏他們姓名的實(shí)體名下。通過(guò)揭開(kāi)200多家空殼公司的秘密，《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》記錄了曼哈頓這棟標(biāo)志性建筑十年里的所有權(quán)情況。全球資本改變著這座城市的房地產(chǎn)市場(chǎng)，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(guó)富人階層的一個(gè)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(pán)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(shí)報(bào)也發(fā)現(xiàn)，有錢(qián)的外國(guó)人所占比例越來(lái)越高，其中至少16人是政府調(diào)查的對(duì)象，不是以個(gè)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(dòng)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(guó)業(yè)主包括來(lái)自俄羅斯、哥倫比亞、馬來(lái)西亞、中國(guó)、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(shù)以百萬(wàn)計(jì)的美元購(gòu)買(mǎi)房產(chǎn)卻幾乎未遭到質(zhì)疑，是因?yàn)槊绹?guó)的法律促進(jìn)了這些資金的流動(dòng)。通過(guò)空殼公司，這些資金基本上無(wú)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(dòng)，其動(dòng)機(jī)可能是腐敗和避稅，也可能是投資戰(zhàn)略，而經(jīng)濟(jì)越來(lái)越不分國(guó)界，轉(zhuǎn)移和隱藏資產(chǎn)的途徑也在激增，使得這種流動(dòng)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(lái)到倫敦、新加坡和其他金融中心，催生了外國(guó)超級(jí)富人的專屬地帶，隨之而來(lái)的是怨恨之情和有關(guān)階級(jí)不平等的爭(zhēng)議。在重塑城市面貌的玻璃和鋼鐵大樓里，階級(jí)不平等變得有形起來(lái)。

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(guò)后，這股資本洪流選擇了時(shí)代華納中心作為著陸地。即便十多年過(guò)去了，中央公園的南邊也建起了一排摩天大樓，時(shí)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(shì)：流入高端房地產(chǎn)市場(chǎng)的外國(guó)資金日越來(lái)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(jù)PropertyShark網(wǎng)站的數(shù)據(jù)，紐約市售價(jià)超過(guò)500萬(wàn)美元的共管公寓每年的銷(xiāo)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(guò)一半被賣(mài)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(shí)報(bào)的研究結(jié)果揭示了一個(gè)不透明的經(jīng)濟(jì)體獲取海外財(cái)富的運(yùn)作機(jī)制。由于缺乏相應(yīng)的動(dòng)機(jī)，也沒(méi)有法律上的義務(wù)，參與高端房產(chǎn)銷(xiāo)售的一系列人員——律師、會(huì)計(jì)、經(jīng)紀(jì)商、代管代理、房地產(chǎn)中介、公管公寓董事會(huì)和建筑工人——通常對(duì)自己職責(zé)之外的情況一無(wú)所知。正如時(shí)代華納中心前公管公寓管理者魯?shù)?middot;陶舍爾(RudyTauscher)所說(shuō)：“大樓里的工作人員不知道錢(qián)是從哪來(lái)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(quán)結(jié)構(gòu)被掩蓋得密不透風(fēng)：為了揭開(kāi)在時(shí)代華納中心擁有共管公寓的空殼公司的所有權(quán)結(jié)構(gòu)，時(shí)報(bào)花了超過(guò)一年的時(shí)間，搜索了20多個(gè)國(guó)家的商業(yè)和法庭記錄，采訪了數(shù)十位了解該樓盤(pán)的人士，研究了數(shù)以百計(jì)的公開(kāi)地產(chǎn)記錄，將出現(xiàn)在房契上的律師或親屬姓名與真正的買(mǎi)主對(duì)應(yīng)了起來(lái)。

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(shí)候，要想確定空殼公司背后的資金來(lái)源幾乎是不可能的。購(gòu)房者可以使用會(huì)計(jì)、律師或親屬的名字來(lái)注冊(cè)一家空殼公司。購(gòu)買(mǎi)公寓的通常不光是個(gè)人，還有投資者團(tuán)體和大量的購(gòu)房者家庭成員，這讓購(gòu)房資金的來(lái)源變得更加模糊。此外，空殼公司的所有權(quán)可以隨時(shí)轉(zhuǎn)移，不會(huì)顯示在房產(chǎn)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(chǎn)市場(chǎng)已經(jīng)變得越來(lái)越不透明，對(duì)于想要隱瞞財(cái)富的海外人士也更加具有吸引力，雖然與此同時(shí)，美國(guó)正在敦促其他國(guó)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(dān)心空殼公司為非法所得提供了掩護(hù)，要求更大公開(kāi)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(qián)，”華盛頓的非營(yíng)利機(jī)構(gòu)全球金融誠(chéng)信組織(Global Financial Integrity)的負(fù)責(zé)人雷蒙德·貝克(Raymond Baker)說(shuō)。該機(jī)構(gòu)會(huì)對(duì)非法資金的流動(dòng)進(jìn)行追蹤。“就這么簡(jiǎn)單。他們喜歡別人把錢(qián)打進(jìn)自己的賬戶里，因此就不會(huì)像平常一樣嚴(yán)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(guó)的富人。在紐約，從共管公寓開(kāi)發(fā)項(xiàng)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(nèi)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(zhǎng)邁克爾·R·布隆伯格(Michael R. Bloomberg)在自己每周的廣播節(jié)目中說(shuō)：“如果我們能讓全世界的億萬(wàn)富翁都搬到這座城市來(lái)，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(shí)報(bào)查明身份的時(shí)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(shù)收藏家，以及八位大型公司的首席高管擁有時(shí)代華納中心的單位。這里還居住過(guò)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(ài)國(guó)者隊(duì)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(fù)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(shí)報(bào)發(fā)現(xiàn)，這家公司的所有者是來(lái)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(dǎo)致周?chē)木用窕疾?，因此遭到罰款。此外，印度本國(guó)的一個(gè)司法委員會(huì)認(rèn)定，他的公司侵犯了一個(gè)土著部落的土地權(quán)利，只因?yàn)樵摬柯浞恋K了采礦活動(dòng)。

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(dāng)方愛(ài)之(Anna Ai Fang)2004年以210萬(wàn)美元的價(jià)格購(gòu)買(mǎi)了公寓58E時(shí)，她在房契上填寫(xiě)的轉(zhuǎn)收地址絕對(duì)是相當(dāng)?shù)驼{(diào)，那是她在哥倫比亞大學(xué)(Columbia University)拉格爾斯廳(Ruggles Hall)的宿舍。當(dāng)時(shí)，她的父親方風(fēng)雷已經(jīng)結(jié)束了在多家中國(guó)國(guó)有銀行的漫長(zhǎng)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(tuán)由亞歷山大·瓦爾沙夫斯基(Alexander Varshavsky)所掌控。此人在俄羅斯經(jīng)營(yíng)著多家汽車(chē)銷(xiāo)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(dāng)瓦爾沙夫斯基用現(xiàn)金全款購(gòu)買(mǎi)了這套面積4300平方英尺的公寓時(shí)，參與這筆交易的人員幾乎沒(méi)有提出任何疑問(wèn)。不過(guò)，他購(gòu)買(mǎi)共管公寓的舉動(dòng)并非沒(méi)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(chǎn)中介進(jìn)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(hào)樓，”紐瓦克聯(lián)邦法院收到的一份刑事訴狀上說(shuō)。這份訴狀記錄了聯(lián)邦特工在時(shí)代華納中心的監(jiān)視活動(dòng)。“2011年6月，被告瓦爾沙夫斯基以大約2050萬(wàn)美元的價(jià)格，現(xiàn)金全款購(gòu)買(mǎi)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(guó)公民。2013年12月，他被指控隱瞞了自己的一個(gè)海外銀行賬戶。瓦爾沙夫斯基的一名律師否認(rèn)了這些指控，并表示預(yù)計(jì)這項(xiàng)控訴將會(huì)被撤銷(xiāo)。

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(shí)代華納中心的公寓。

Ownership Becomes Opaque

神秘的所有權(quán)

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(shí)住所，他們占據(jù)了紐約會(huì)議中心(New York Coliseum)的遺址，那里是羅伯特·摩斯(Robert Moses)時(shí)代舉行會(huì)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(huì)議中心的拆除和時(shí)代華納中心的落成把該地區(qū)變成了一個(gè)繁忙的購(gòu)物餐飲中心。時(shí)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(nèi)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(lǐng)了一系列俯瞰中央公園的豪華住宅樓的開(kāi)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(guò)把這些共管公寓推銷(xiāo)給富有的國(guó)際買(mǎi)家，時(shí)代華納的開(kāi)發(fā)商站在了為紐約地產(chǎn)行業(yè)吸引海外資金的前沿。新公寓首次出售時(shí)，26%被賣(mài)給了海外買(mǎi)家，這個(gè)比例目前已經(jīng)增長(zhǎng)到了超過(guò)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。