20/06/17 12:20
Tevfik Arif (Tofik Arifov) is a Soviet-born Turkish real estate developer and investor. He has a degree in international relations from Moscow University and he worked in the communist Soviet government in the Ministry of Commerce and Trade as a deputy director of its Department of Hotel Management for 17 yrs. He resigned in 1991 and founded Specialty Chemicals Trading Company trading in rare metals and raw materials. Arif moved to Turkey in 1993 where he operated a jewelry business and in 1999, he partnered with Rixos hotel chain to open a luxury hotel in Antalya, Turkey. Arif and his brother bought a chromium plant in Aktobe, Kazakhstan and later established an offshore real estate company to fund high-end developments in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

In 2001, Arif founded the Bayrock Group, a real estate development company. He was the only employee until he hired Felix Sater, a mob-connected felon, as managing director. After moving his business to Trump Tower in NYC, Tevfik developed a relationship with Donald Trump. Trump entered into a licensing deal with Trump SoHo, a joint venture between Bayrock and Sapir Organization.During this time period, Trump was unable to secure loans from American banks and was in the market for alternative sources of capital. Arif and Sater, both worked to introduce Trump to Russian investors. Bayrock partnered with Trump on projects in Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, Arizona, Colorado, New York and Florida.

Bayrock has come under fire recently for possible money laundering through Trump SoHo. When Trump testified under oath in 2011 about his relationship with Bayrock, he said, “I don’t know who owns Bayrock,” and “I never really understood who owned Bayrock. I know they’re a developer that’s done quite a bit of work. But I don’t know how they have their ownership broken down.” Mr. Arif is believed to be living in Turkey and according to his spokeswoman he was the sole owner of Bayrock when it did business with Mr. Trump.

Fun Fact: In 2010, Tevfik Arif was arrested in Turkey and charged with running a prostitution ring aboard his $60 million dollar yacht anchored off the coast of Antalya, Turkey. Russian, Kyrgys and Kazakh businessmen and top government officials were among those detained. In 2012, the charges were dropped.

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