In
Felix Sater Almaty Case Talk
of Neil Bush and Kazakh
Extradition Bots for Arab
Spring
By Matthew
Russell Lee
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 21 –The City of Almaty in
Kazakhstan is active in the
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York,
with at least two case before
SDNY Magistrate Judge
Katharine H. Parker.
Inner City Press
has covered the litigation
with Felix Sater, with another
proceeding coming up on August
23, 2022.
On August
16 in a related case, cross
defendant Mukhtar Ablyazov was
being described as a scoff law
with some sort of asylum in
France. He was, in fact, on
the line; he described himself
at the number one political
opposition leader in
Kazakhstan. His adversary
chided him for using the
proceeding to make political
speeches.
This case is City
of Almaty, Kazahkstan, et al.
v. Mukhtar Ablyazov, et al.,
15-cv-5345 (Koeltl / Parker)
Previously before
Judge Parker, Felix Sater was
asked if he remembered
election day 2016 as a notable
day.
It was "a
notable day for all
Americans," Sater replied,
smiling. Moments later when
the same lawyer, Matthew Lane
Schwartz of Boies Schiller
Flexner LLP began a question
about Sater knowing it is a
felony to lie, Sater shot
back, YOU know it is a felony
- until Judge Parker cut it
off.
Jump cut
to March 24, 2022 when Sater
had filed motions to extend
discovery and to join Arcanum
and the Republic of
Kazakhstan. Judge Parker
convened the parties in her
17th floor courtroom and Inner
City Press was there.
Sater's lawyer
said his client had initially
thought this was just a garden
variety commercial case.
Judge Parker
said, But it's about money
laundering. Is that garden
variety commercial?
Sater's
lawyer emphasized that Arcanum
was hired to find dirt, and
that should not be covered by
sovereign immunity. It emerged
Sater has filed discovery
requests about Robert Mueller.
Almaty,
Kazakhstan through Boies
Flexner said Sater had been on
notice and it is too late.
Judge Parker took the motions
under advisement.
On May 9 the
(re-) assigned District Judge
John G. Koeltl adopted the
report by Magistrate Judge
Parker denying Sater's request
to amend and add claims
against Kazakhstan and
Arcanum. Full order on Patreon
here.
Back on
October 7, 2020 Judge Parker
held another discovery
conference in the case. Inner
City Press covered it. It
emerged that a September 30
deposition of Sater had to be
called off when he traveled to
Guyana and said he had no
Internet there.
Jump cut to
December 20 when District
Judge John G. Koetlt to whom
it was reassigned when Judge
Nathan was promoted to the
Second Circuit set a trial
date: "ORDER: As discussed at
the conference held today, the
trial in this matter is
scheduled for June 10, 2024,
at 9:00 a.m."
On May 16 in the
run-up, this: "JOINT PRETRIAL
ORDER The Sater Defendants do
not intend to dispute many of
the arguments made regarding
the underlying business
transactions referenced by
Plaintiffs in their complaint.
The position of the Sater
Defendants is that the
critical point of this trial
will be the validity of the
release. This matter can be
resolved in no more than 2
(two) days of trial.
On June 10,
Sater's lawyer wrote in that
"Defendant Felix Sater
respectfully moves in limine
to preclude Plaintiffs from
introducing evidence of
Sater’s criminal conviction,
entered 15 years ago, and
relating to criminal conduct
from the 1990s." Full letter
on Patreon here.
Later on June 10,
amid jury selection,
plaintiffs insisted they want
the racketeering in - while
noting an earlier Sater
conviction for assault. They
oppose Sater being able to
present information about
helping the US government,
Buzzfeed say he tracked Osama
Bin Laden.
On June 11, after
the jury was selected and the
plaintiffs' opening, with
Inner City Press present,
defense counsel told the eight
jurors - six plus two
alternates - that if they find
that the claims were released,
or that they are time barred,
Sater wins. He mocked Mr.
Schwartz for showing a photo
of Sater "with side glance" -
at defense table Sater scoffed
or laughed, or perhaps winced.
Defense counsel
emphasized that Sater tried to
help the plaintiffs get their
money back.
On June 12,
jurors were shown video of Mr.
Schwartz questioning Khrapunov
about Petelin paying so that
his name would not appear in
litigation.
On June 13, an
expert was on the stand to
authenticate Khrapunov's
signature on a letter.
Meanwhile, Judge Koeltl denied
the motion for judgment on the
pleadings by MeM Energy
Partners.
On June 14, MeM's
lawyer cross examine BTA
Bank's consultant-not-lawyer,
thread
On June 20, the
defense case began with Sater
former lawyer Robert Wolf on
the stand, under subpoena.
Wolf says he
socialized with Sater, family
vacations together.
Sater's lawyer: I
show you the Confidential
Assistance Agreement [of
2015]. Who drafted it? Wolf:
One of my corporate partners
at Moses & SInger.
Sater's lawyer:
You were aware Mr Sater did
business with the Khraponovs,
about US real estate?
Wolf: Yes
Meanwhile Sater
submitted to the court a 2013
La Stampa Moninari interview,
that "the deportations
happened because the dictator
of Kazakhstan wanted two
hostages against his major
political opponent."
On June 21,
Mochkin then Sater again
testified, Inner City Press
was there, from the thread:
OK - now in Felix
Sater case, still defendants'
case. Questions about
Tri-County and Syracuse
projects Q: Do you understand
that in this litigation you
have been accused of acting as
a P.R. agent for Felix Sater
and others? A: I've read that.
Q: Let me read
from the complaint, alleging
that Mendel Mochkin was trying
to drum up negative coverage
of Kazakhstan Witness:
My family has had experience
with totalitarians. So I put a
journalist who had written
about my father in contact....
Q: Kind of like your work with
Neil Bush, you put people
together
A: Yes.
Witness: The Italians pushed
the Kazakh to repatriate the
woman back to Italy. Q: Did
you charge for it? Witness:
No. It's what my family does.
Q: And how you're being sued
for that? Witness: What good
deed goes unpunished? After
that I got more involved in
Bklyn
Q: You live in
Brooklyn with your wife and
seven children, quiet, right?
Witness: Felix, I could not be
involved in that
rollercoaster. I'm in the next
phase, housing in
Brooklyn. Q: Have you
been paid on the buyer and
seller side before? Witness: I
am not an adviser, no one
likes to pay them.
Q: But when you
make it rain, like on
Tri-County or Syracuse, you
try to get paid while it
rains? Witness: We made a
deal. Lawyer: I pass the
witness Now lawyer
Schwartz of Boies Schiller
questioning. Schwartz: Mr.
Khrapanov lived in Geneva,
correct? Witness: Many people
do.
Schwartz: You
said you have a moral duty -
Defense: Objection!
Mischaracterizes the
testimony. Judge:
Overruled. Schwartz: ...
They were in Italy on false
Central African Republic
passports, right? Witness:
Yes, but it was later proved
incorrect.
Schwartz: Other
witnesses in this trial said
they paid for Central African
Republic passports, you are
aware? Witness: No
Schwartz: Have you not been
paying attention to this
trial? Defense: Objection!
Judge: Sustained. But don't
talk over each other. It's not
team-tagging. Schwartz: ... he
paid a soccer player from the
Central African Republic and
said he was CAR's Swiss
Ambassador?
Witness: There
was something going on between
the the Italian government and
Kazakhstan Schwartz: I
understand that's your story
but answer my question -
didn't the Italian government
rescind the order of
deportation, and the Kazakh
government returned them?
Yes Schwartz: You
are saying the Italian
government was corrupted here?
Witness: It's not
my belief, it's on the
Internet. Schwartz: You said
the UK government was
corrupted? Witness: Yes.
Schwartz: You suggested an
English High Court justice was
bribed? Schwartz: You
tried to do business deals in
Russia? Witness: I visited
cemetaries.
Schwartz: Mining
deals? Witness: Maybe.
Schwartz: So your claimed
moral - Objection! Judge:
Sustained. Schwartz: You
discussed with Sater using
Social Media Interference to
falsely amplify certain news
sources, using this company
which offer avatars and
"control and anticipate a
social media initiated popular
uprising (Arab Spring Egypt)
Witness: I
forwarded that Schwartz:
You looked at deals in
Kazakhstan with Neil Bush,
right? Witness: Yes. Schwartz:
In a deal, you want to get
money out, right? Witness:
What does that mean? Schwartz:
If you don't know then I don't
know. Witness: Yeah, I work.
Judge: Just Q&A
Felix Sater is back on the
stand. Sater: Chevrolet had
passed away... Not the car,
but a Geneva politician.
Q: On June 5,
2015 was there discussion
about Elvira? Sater: Yes. I
explained to Peter about her
visa - it was later turned
into, let's say, a movie
Sater: I explained to Peter
Garsky the opportunity to put
pressure on Elvira - she
operated in the US. My
approach was, Put pressure
from every side and see what
cracked. Q: You first brought
up Elvira's visa problems?
Sater: Yes. The guy in the
video owes me
Sater: We
discusses how to squeeze lemon
juice out of lemon, how
Elvira's mother would react.
Everything you've seen in the
courtroom originated with me.
Q: What is AdLux? Sater: A
digital network, it broadcast
to private jet areas Judge:
We'll break The week is
over.
more on X for
Subscribers here,
Substack here
The witnesses,
and some tweets from the
streets, are on.
The case is City
of Almaty, Kazakhstan et al v.
Sater et al., 19-cv-2645
(Koeltl
/ Parker).
***
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