FBI Raids Helly Nahmad Gallery in $100 Million Money-Laundering and Gambling Scandal

On April 19, 2013, the FBI conducted a raid in the early hours, leading to the arrest of Hillel "Helly" Nahmad, the proprietor of the Helly Nahmad Gallery situated at the Carlyle Hotel on New York's Upper East Side. Nahmad is accused of participating in a money-laundering operation that financed illegal gambling establishments frequented by Russian oligarchs, Hollywood stars, and athletes. This scheme reportedly involved transferring $1.35 million from family funds to accounts managed by Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, a fugitive charged with manipulating the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The Nahmad family, valued at over $3 billion by Forbes, has previously encountered legal challenges, including a lawsuit regarding a Modigliani painting, Seated Man on a Chair (1918), allegedly taken by Nazis. Helly's father, David Nahmad, expressed his disbelief from London, labeling the FBI's claims as "totally stupid." The gallery, recognized for exhibitions such as Soutine/Bacon and Alexander Calder: the Painter, has effectively shut down amid the scandal. This federal probe is part of a larger money-laundering investigation exceeding $100 million, which has also implicated Molly Bloom, Joseph Mancuso, Stan Greenberg, and Noah Siegel, all of whom have pleaded not guilty in Manhattan court.