The Trump Towers trio on Sunny Isles Beach attracts its share of fanatics, thanks to Donald Trump’s licensing deal that sticks to his name for the waterfront development.
But on Thursday, the high-rise luxury resort came to the attention of law enforcement, namely the FBI.
A group of FBI special agents, aided by local police, descended on Trump Tower III at 15811 Collins Street. to conduct research on Unit 4102. It is owned by a shell company, MIC-USA LLC, which is controlled by two Russian businessmen, Oleg Sergeyevich Patsulia and Agonda Konstantinovna Makeeva, according to state company records.
On Friday, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Miami field office said it “conducts court-ordered law enforcement activities near this location,” but did not provide further information.
Patzulea and Makeeva could not be reached for comment. Patzulia’s wife, Rosa Pereira, who state records say is also listed in company filings for MIC-USA, said she knew about the FBI raid.
“I just can’t talk about it,” Pereira told the Miami Herald. ” lawyer [for my husband] He said not to talk to anyone. …I have no idea what it is. »
It was Sunny Isles Beach that the locals called “Little Moscow”. Because it is home to many Russian expats. Some have expressed fears of a backlash against their coastal community after the Russian army invaded Ukraine last year and the US government began sanctioning oligarchs who stash their wealth in real estate in South Florida and other parts of the country.
Before becoming president in 2016, Trump signed a deal with the developers of the 45-story building to name the property after him to boost sales. Foreign buyers, especially from Latin America and Russia, have flocked to Trump Towers, as they have done to other Trump-branded properties in Sunny Isles Beach.
Among the buyers: MIC-USA, which purchased a three-bedroom, three-bathroom condo in Trump III Tower for $1.65 million a decade ago, according to Miami-Dade real estate records.
In 2020, BAC Florida Bank, which provided the financing for the purchase, filed a lawsuit against Patsulya and Makeeva, claiming that they defaulted on their $975,000 mortgage. The dispute was resolved later that year, though it is unclear how from court records. MIC-USA, which is controlled by the Russians, continued to own the 41st floor unit in Trump Tower III.
