Article Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By Kyra Gurney
Published July 5, 2016
The trouble started in April, when Sergey Umrikhin’s new
tenant paid his $1,500 rent a month late — surprising, considering records
showed $138,000 flowing into his bank account in December alone.
Then Umrikhin received a violation letter from the property manager at Avant
Garde, the highrise Hallandale Beach condominium complex where he owns a
unit. Umrikhin’s tenant was throwing cigarettes over the third-floor condo
balcony and drinking out of glass bottles on the pool deck, the letter said.
Umrikhin filed eviction papers in mid-May, after two
months of late payments.
Three weeks later, his
rental problems still unresolved, Umrikhin searched online
for his Russian tenant, Vladimir Kholodnyak, using a Russian
search engine. That’s when he learned that Kholodnyak was
wanted by the international police agency Interpol.
And that shedding an international fugitive is not as easy
as one might think.
“International criminals are walking free on our streets and
no public or government authorities care about it,” Umrikhin
stated in an e-mail on June 16, when he first contacted the
Miami Herald.
Umrikhin and the co-owner of the unit had some misgivings
about Kholodnyak when they first met him, but were reassured
by the information Kholodnyak provided with his rental
application, Umrikhin said. “We had a criminal background
check, and he was recommended by a nice broker.” |
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Alexander and Vladimir Kholodnyak appear on
Interpol’s wanted list.
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After he found out about the Interpol “red notice,”
Umrikhin said he contacted the Hallandale Beach Police Department the next
day, and called the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of
Homeland Security in mid-June. Two weeks later, Kholodnyak and his wife are
still in the apartment, according to Umrikhin.
The Herald was unable to determine what action, if any, has been taken by
federal authorities in response. The FBI would not confirm whether Umrikhin
had called the agency, and a spokesman for Homeland Security in Miami said
the department “does not confirm or deny any ongoing investigations as a
matter of policy.”
The U.S. Marshals Service, the agency with primary jurisdiction over foreign
nationals on Interpol’s wanted list, said it is unable to arrest Russian
nationals on the list because the United States and Russia don’t have an
extradition treaty.
“At this point in time, the U.S. Marshals Service is not investigating or
looking into Mr. Kholodnyak. Since there is no treaty between the U.S. and
Russia, Mr. Kholodnyak can’t be picked up on the Interpol notice,” explained
Senior Inspector Barry Golden, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in
Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Foreign money, some of it from individuals with questionable financial
backgrounds, has flooded the South Florida condo market,so much so that the
Treasury Department announced temporary regulations requiring title
insurance companies to identify the owners of shell companies buying
high-end Miami real estate in cash.
“If you’re renting out luxury units
to an international clientele, you need to get professional advice to see
who they are.
Kenneth Rijock, former money launderer who became a financial crime
consultant
But the more restrictive rules do not apply to renters, leaving landlords at
risk of leasing their condos to tenants with sketchy backgrounds.
The online background check Avant Garde required Kholodnyak to complete
failed to turn up the charges against Kholodnyak in Russia, or his presence
on Interpol’s wanted list.
The background check, provided to the Miami Herald, states “All Clear,”
highlighted in green, followed by a short explanation: “No criminal or
eviction history found.”
The service Avant Garde used searches national records, but does not perform
an international background check, according to its website. Avant Garde
referred the Herald to the condominium complex’s lawyer, who did not respond
to requests for comment.
International background checks are typically more expensive and take longer
to complete than searches of national or state criminal records.
Kholodnyak responded to the Miami Herald’s questions through his wife, Olga,
whose English is better than his.
“When Vladimir moved to the apartment, he gave all information to Avant
Garde to the building manager,” Olga Karpenko told the Herald. “If they
approve him, it means they checked everything about him that they need.”
Kholodnyak and his brother Alexander, who is also on the Interpol list,
owned a construction company in southwestern Russia. They allegedly erected
residential buildings without obtaining permits, and failed to finish some
of them, defrauding clients who had purchased units in the buildings,
according to Russian media reports.
The brothers were charged with fraud and illegal business practices in July
2014, a Russian Embassy spokesman, Ivan Filatov, told the Herald. Both men
were added to Interpol’s red list in December 2014.
“Our position is that the charges are politically motivated,” said Michelle
Estlund, a criminal defense attorney representing Vladimir Kholodnyak.
Estlund said Kholodnyak has applied for asylum in the United States and that
he has petitioned to have his name removed from the Interpol list.
Kholodnyak is still waiting for a final response in both cases, according to
Estlund.
Vladimir Kholodnyak “has problems with Russia with politics and doesn’t want
to talk about it,” his wife told the Herald. Alexander Kholodnyak could not
be reached for comment.
Vladimir Kholodnyak’s asylum lawyer, Anis Saleh, cautioned that some foreign
governments have been known to use criminal charges as a means of political
persecution. “There are many, many instances of people who are designated as
fugitives or criminals and it’s later shown that it’s a measure of
persecution or extortion or revenge,” he said.
The eviction case against Kholodnyak is pending. Umrikhin said he was
ordered to update his three-day eviction notice at the most recent hearing,
and that he is now waiting for a new hearing to be scheduled. Even if
Kholodnyak agrees to pay the rent on time, Umrikhin still wants him out.
“I think he may provide some kind of danger to other people,” Umrikhin said.
Umrikhin and his partner have received what they interpret as threats from
Kholodnyak in recent weeks.
“Listen to me you conman, I am already tired of you, mind your own business
and take care of your health!” Kholodnyak e-mailed Umrikhin in Russian on
June 22. “Shut your mouth and keep quiet.”
Maj. Pedro Abut, a spokesman for the Hallandale Beach police, said the
department did not have a record of Umrikhin’s complaint and might have
passed the information on to federal authorities without recording the
complaint. Abut said the department contacted federal authorities following
the Herald’s request for comment.
The Russian Embassy has not been contacted by U.S. law enforcement agencies
regarding the Kholodnyak brothers, said spokesman Filatov.
“When Vladimir moved to the
apartment, he gave all information to Avant Garde to the building manager.
If they approve him, it means they checked everything about him that they
need.
Olga Karpenko, tenant’s wife
In addition to Kholodnyak’s alleged fraud in Russia,
Umrikhin has questions about his business dealings in the United States. The
Herald found six companies registered in Kholodnyak’s name or in the names
of apparent relatives, of which five appear to be shell companies. Two of
the companies purchased three South Florida properties in 2014, all of which
have since been resold.
“If you’re renting out luxury units to an international clientele, you need
to get professional advice to see who they are,” said Kenneth Rijock, a
former money launderer who became a financial crime
consultant.“Unfortunately, many unit owners, when they see a large amount of
rent that far exceeds the amount they’re paying for the mortgage, they see
stars in their eyes and if it’s too good to be true they’ll go for it.”
Boris Vedenyapin, a broker who was hired by both Vladimir and Alexander
Kholodnyak, said he was “not really” aware that Vladimir was on Interpol’s
wanted list when he agreed to help him find an apartment. “He told me that
he had some problems in Russia,” Vedenyapin explained.
“Anyway, they were just asking me to help them with the rental. I did my
job. I just showed them a few properties.”
Rijock said some in the industry are becoming more careful about vetting
prospective clients.
“The last thing a landlord wants is to see a picture of his unit in the
newspaper involved in a drug bust,” he said.
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