US Seeks Seizure of Ex-Mongolian Premier’s $14 Million New York Residences Allegedly Tied to Mining Scam

By Trisha Andrada

Mar 27, 2024 03:38 AM EDT

Allegedly purchasing two high-end residences in midtown Manhattan with millions of dollars in revenues from Mongolia's profitable mining contracts, former Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold is now the target of a United States government effort to confiscate his assets.

Batbold was in office from 2009 until 2012. He is now serving in Mongolia's parliament.

Mongolia's Ex-PM Accused of Buying NY Properties With Corrupt Funds

On Tuesday, March 26, federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit seeking the seizure of his two $14 million residences in New York City. The properties were reportedly purchased with funds obtained via a fraudulent operation involving a massive copper mine in Mongolia.

A Mongolian state-owned mining corporation reportedly provided shell companies $128 million in contracts that benefitted Batbold and his family, including his eldest son, according to a complaint filed in US District Court in Brooklyn as reported by CNBC.

The lawsuit claims that while Batbold was prime minister, Erdenet Mining Corporation allowed a middleman with connections to Batbold to take millions of dollars from a deal with Ocean Partners, a commodities trading firm. This money was then used by Batbold for his personal benefit, including the purchase of luxury apartments in Manhattan.

The eldest son, Battushig Batbold, allegedly received $30 million from Erdernet Mining through wire transfers involving "car payment," "trips and travel," "school payment," and "interior designer payment," as per the lawsuit. The funds were sent to a bank account in the US.

The LinkedIn profile of Battushig, who is a Harvard Business School graduate, states that he was a mining analyst at Morgan Stanley from 2009 to 2011 and a summer associate at Blackstone in 2014.

Attorney Claims Batbold Was Targeted by 'Misinformation Campaign'

"The claims filed today echo allegations our clients defeated two years ago in courts around the world," said Orin Snyder, an attorney at the Gibson Dunn company who is defending Sukhbaatar and Battushig.

"In those cases, we proved the claims against Mr. Batbold were the product of a misinformation campaign designed to manipulate Mongolian democracy - a campaign secretly directed by Mr. Batbold's opponents," Snyder added in an email statement supplied to CNBC.

Though the former prime minister himself is not indicted, BBC said that the state may seize the assets in question if the court upholds the validity of the prosecution's allegations.

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