United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius, Baer & Co.

315 F. Supp. 3d 90
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedApril 23, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 04–0798 (PLF)
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 315 F. Supp. 3d 90 (United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius, Baer & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius, Baer & Co., 315 F. Supp. 3d 90 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

PAUL L. FRIEDMAN, United States District Judge

This matter is before the Court on the motion [Dkt. No. 970] of the United States for clarification or partial reconsideration of the Court's opinion of April 27, 2017, granting in part and denying in part the motion of claimant Pavel Lazarenko for partial judgment on the pleadings. See United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd., 251 F.Supp.3d 82 (D.D.C. 2017). Upon careful consideration of the parties' written submissions, the relevant legal authorities, and the entire record in this case, the Court will grant the motion.1

*93I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Court's prior opinions summarize the factual and procedural history of this case, starting with the criminal prosecution of Mr. Lazarenko and continuing through this long-running in rem civil forfeiture proceeding. See, e.g., United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd., 307 F.R.D. 249, 250-51 (D.D.C. 2014) ; United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd., 959 F.Supp.2d 81, 84-94 (D.D.C. 2013) ; United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd., 772 F.Supp.2d 205, 207-08 (D.D.C. 2011) ; United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd., 571 F.Supp.2d 1, 3-6 (D.D.C. 2008). In brief, Mr. Lazarenko was a prominent Ukrainian politician who, with the aid of various associates, was "able to acquire hundreds of millions of United States dollars through a variety of acts of fraud, extortion, bribery, misappropriation and/or embezzlement" committed during the 1990s. United States v. All Assets Held at Bank Julius Baer & Co., Ltd., 959 F.Supp.2d at 85 (quoting Am. Compl. ¶¶ 1, 10).

A. Overview of Claims and Alleged Criminal Schemes

The United States alleges that Mr. Lazarenko and his associates amassed the assets subject to forfeiture in this action through four criminal schemes. The present motion for clarification or partial reconsideration concerns two of these alleged schemes: (1) the PMH/GHP scheme, see Am. Compl. ¶¶ 45-49; and (2) the UESU and ITERA Energy schemes, see id. ¶¶ 35-44.

In its amended complaint, the United States brings eight claims for relief under two general categories. Claims One, Two, Three, and Four allege direct forfeiture of criminal proceeds pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C), which provides for the direct forfeiture of proceeds from the violation of certain enumerated criminal statutes or "any offense constituting 'specified unlawful activity' " as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1956(c)(7). These direct forfeiture claims allege that the defendant properties constitute or are derived from proceeds traceable to violations of four offenses that are considered "specified unlawful activity" under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(c)(7). The three offenses for which a part of the criminal conduct allegedly occurred in the United States are: interstate transportation and receipt of property stolen or taken by fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2314 and 2315 (Claim One); Hobbs Act extortion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (Claim Two); and wire fraud, including property and honest services fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1346 (Claim Three). The two foreign offenses for which direct forfeiture is alleged and authorized by law are: an offense against a foreign nation involving extortion, and an offense against a foreign nation involving bribery of a public official or the misappropriation, theft, or embezzlement of public funds by or for the benefit of a public official. These offenses are enumerated in 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(c)(7)(B)(ii) and (iv) (Claim Four).

Claims Five, Six, Seven, and Eight allege forfeiture of property involved in money laundering violations pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(A), which provides for, among other things, the forfeiture of any *94real or personal property involved in or traceable to a violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956 and 1957. These money laundering forfeiture claims allege that the defendant properties were involved in or traceable to money laundering transactions or attempted money laundering transactions. The violations of money laundering law alleged in the amended complaint include: conduct designed to conceal the nature, location, source, ownership, or control of proceeds of a specified unlawful activity under 18 U.S.C. § 1956

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315 F. Supp. 3d 90, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-all-assets-held-at-bank-julius-baer-co-cadc-2018.