Yesterday in New York, federal prosecutors filed a civil complaint against the Alavi Foundation seeking forfeiture of over $500 million in assets including not only bank accounts and an office tower in New York, but also Islamic centers housing mosques and schools in New York City; Rockville, Maryland; Carmichael, California; and Houston, Texas. The New York Times yesterday reported that the lawsuit alleges the Foundation for years has been secretly controlled by officials of Iran, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations. The Islamic centers and schools will be allowed to carry on their normal activities as the case proceeds. They merely need to post notices of the civil complaint on the property. It is rare for the government to seize houses of worship. It is not clear what the government will do with the properties if it succeeds in the lawsuit. Funding of the mosques and schools may be impacted sooner if the federal government seizes the New York office building whose rents contributed to their funding.
The forfeiture claim stems from allegations that the Alavi Foundation illegally funnelled millions of dollars of rental income to Iran's state-owned Bank Melli. It is illegal to do business with the bank in the U.S. under Executive Order 13382. The Executive Order blocks U.S. property of those who support proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. Bank Melli is among those that are listed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control as covered by the ban.
UPDATE: Today's Washington Post reports on federal marshals delivering notice that begins the seizure proceedings at the Islamic Education Center in Potomac, Maryland.
