Federal prosecutors initiated legal action on Tuesday to seize two opulent New York City apartments valued at $14 million.
The acquisition of these properties is purportedly linked to illicit gains derived from a corrupt scheme involving Mongolia’s significant copper mine, implicating a former prime minister of the nation, Sukhbaatar Batbold, and his son, a graduate of Harvard Business School.
The lawsuit, lodged in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, meticulously outlines transactions totaling $128 million that are alleged to be unlawfully awarded contracts by a state-owned Mongolian mining entity to front companies.
These transactions purportedly benefited Batbold, then serving as Prime Minister, and his family, including his eldest son.
“During Batbold’s tenure as Prime Minister, Erdenet Mining Corporation introduced an intermediary with ties to Batbold into its dealings with [the commodity trading firm] Ocean Partners, facilitating Batbold’s diversion of millions of dollars for personal use and gain, including the acquisition of” the luxury Manhattan apartments, the lawsuit contends.
Batbold held the position of prime minister from 2009 to 2012 and presently serves as a member of the Mongolian parliament.
Funds associated with an additional purportedly illicit contract, amounting to $30 million from Erdernet Mining, were channeled into a U.S. bank account under the control of the eldest son, Battushig Batbold.
These transfers were executed with references to various expenses such as “car payment,” “trips and travel,” “school payment,” and “interior designer payment,” as outlined in the lawsuit.
Battushig Batbold, the son of Batbold, holds a degree from Harvard Business School and is affiliated with the International Olympic Committee.
Additionally, according to his LinkedIn profile, Battushig Batbold served as a summer associate at Blackstone in 2014 and worked as a mining analyst at Morgan Stanley from 2009 to 2011.
