Ex-FBI Director Freeh Hired by Prevezon to Work on Settlement
Ex-FBI Director Freeh Hired by Prevezon to Work on Settlement
(Bloomberg) -- Former FBI Director Louis Freeh was hired by a Russian-backed company earlier this year to help in settlement talks to resolve a U.S. money-laundering probe, according to U.S. prosecutors.
Prevezon Holdings Ltd. struck a deal to pay the U.S. $5.9 million to avoid a trial that threatened to shed light on a $230 million Russian tax fraud and an associated money-laundering scheme. Prevezon hasn’t paid the settlement yet, and the U.S. is now asking a judge to enforce the deal.
According to documents filed by the U.S. Wednesday, Freeh was hired to continue negotiations on a deal after the government rejected an April 11 offer from Prevezon’s settlement lawyer, Michael Hess of Dorf & Nelson LLP.
The case stems from a decade-long drama tied to the Russian tax fraud and reaches the highest political levels in Moscow and Washington. Prevezon is also represented by Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer who sat down with President Donald Trump’s son during the 2016 election campaign, in a meeting that was sold as an opportunity for Trump’s campaign to get dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Prevezon was accused of using some of the money from the Russian tax fraud to buy real estate in New York.
The case is US v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd, CA No. 13-cv-06326, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Van Voris in federal court in Manhattan at rvanvoris@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Andrew Martin
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