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The U.S. Treasury Department imposed a $7.1 million fine on a New York-based property management firm Thursday, accusing it of violating sanctions by managing luxury real estate properties for oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control said Gracetown Inc. had received 24 payments between April 2018 and May 2020 totaling $31,250 on behalf of a company owned by Deripaska. OFAC says it gave Gracetown notice that dealings with Deripaska were prohibited, but the firm proceeded anyway. Justice Department filings from 2022 connect Gracetown Inc. with U.K. businessman Graham Bonham-Carter, who was arrested in October 2022 for conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions imposed on Deripaska as well as for wire fraud connected to funding Deripaskas U.S. properties and efforts to expatriate the oligarchs artwork to New York. A lawyer who has represented Deripaska previously didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Gracetown couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. Deripaska has faced economic sanctions since 2018, when the Treasury Department accused him of acting for or on behalf of a senior Russian official and operating in the energy sector of the Russian economy. All of his assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction were blocked, and U.S. people and firms are prohibited from dealings related to Deripaska, his properties and his interest in properties. Deripaska sued The Associated Press in 2017 over a story that March about his business dealings with Paul Manafort, a former campaign chairman for President Donald Trump. Deripaska said the AP article was inaccurate and hurt his career by falsely accusing him of criminal activity. A federal judge dismissed the defamation and libel lawsuit that October. In 2022, Deripaska and three associates were criminally charged in New York with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions and plotting to ensure his child was born in the United States. Treasury says its Thursday enforcement action against Gracetown highlights the importance of following OFAC-issued guidance and the significant consequences that can occur from failing to do so. John K. Hurley, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial Intelligence, said “we will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who enable sanctioned actors. Gracetown was established in 2006 to manage three luxury real estate properties in New York and Washington, D.C., that Deripaska acquired around the same time through various legal entities. Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
Its been less than two months since President Trump began his demolition of the White Houses East Wing to make room for his big, beautiful White House Ballroom, and the President is already parting ways with the original architect behind the project. On December 4, a White House spokesperson confirmed to The Washington Post that the original ballroom architect, McCrery Architects, has been traded in favor of the firm Shalom Baranes Associates. The swap comes after multiple reports that Trump and Jim McCrery, CEO of McCrery Architects, clashed repeatedly over the size and scope of the new ballroom. A screenshot of Shalom Baranes Associates portfolio site. [Screenshot: sbaranes.com] The construction of a giant ballroom is only one part of Trumps plan to remake the White House in his image. Over the past several months, hes updated the buildings interiors with his own Rococo-inspired aesthetics, overhauled the Oval Office into a gold-laden spectacle, and turned the Rose Garden patio into a Mar-a-Lago lookalike. Still, his plans to tear down the White Houses East Wing to build a $250 million, 90,000-square-foot ballrooma process thats already underwayis by far his most extreme renovation. And now, it seems hes opting for a new architect whos more willing to bend to his personal vision for the project. Heres everything you need to know about the shake-up, in a handy timeline: July 31 Late this summer, the Trump administration officially announced its plans to construct a White House ballroom. At the time, the administration named McCrery Architects as the team heading up the project. McCrery himself has been a vocal supporter of President Trumps push to make classical architecture a federal standard, once stating, Americans love classical architecture because it is our nations formative architecture and we love our nations formation. His firm is most known for designing Catholic churches and academic buildings. [Rendering: whitehouse.gov/McCrery Architects] October 20 In October, the Trump administration began tearing down major sections of the East Wing to make way for the massive ballroom. The move came despite both Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitts earlier assurances that the project would not interfere with the existing structure. November 26 The Washington Post was the first to report tensions between McCrery and Trump. According to the publication, four people close to the project reported that McCrery repeatedly advised Trump to bring down the proposed size of the ballroom, pointing out that a 90,000-square-foot addition would overshadow the original White House. In a later report from The New York Times, further details about the disagreement emerged. Several sources told the publication that Trumps plans for the ballrooms size have grown dramatically since the plan was first proposed. In addition, Trump reportedly told people working on the ballroom that they did not need to follow permitting, zoning, or code requirements, and encouraged contractors to work quickly to meet the tight timetable of completion before 2029. It appears that McCrery may have always been doomed to exit the project at some point. One source told The Post that the small size of his workforce made it difficult to meet such intense deadlines. On top of that, McCrery Architects’ relative inexperience with a project of such massive scale and inherent public scrutiny likely set the stage for problems down the line. Construction continues on the White House grounds in Washington, D.C., in late October 2025. [Photo: Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images] December 4 Trumps split with McCrery Architects was officially confirmed to The Washington Post via a statement from White House spokesperson Davis Ingle, who named Shalom Baranes as the next in line to head up the project. Per The Post, McCrery will remain tied to the effort on a consulting basis. Baranes, who runs the firm Shalom Baranes Associates, is most known for leading a $1 billion renovation of the Pentagon back in 2001, though his firm has worked on other large-scale projects throughout D.C. Unlike McCrery, hes embraced a neo-traditionalist style. Back in 2017, he subtly spoke out against Trumpsimmigration ban in an op-ed for The Washington Post, wherein he described himself as a refugee and argued that his own success would be impossible without his fellow immigrants. My hope is that the Trump administration will take actions to ensure that the travel ban is indeed temporary, so that good, hard-working individuals fleeing tyranny can find a new home as I didand that each of them will be given the same opportunity to help build this great nation that I had, Baranes wrote at the time.
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E-Commerce
The year is quickly coming to an end, and that means tech platforms are tripping over themselves to roll out their year-end recapsall hoping to capture the virality that Spotifys Wrapped year-in-review recap commands each year. Already in December, weve seen Spotify Wrapped, Apple Music Replay, Amazon Music Delivered, and YouTube Recap, with more, like the popular Snapchat Recap, set to debut in the coming weeks. One of those debuts has occurred today, as well. Popular chat platform Discord has now released its personalized Wrapped-like recap: Discord Checkpoint. Heres what to know about it and how to view yours. Discord announced Discord Checkpoint 2025 Discord has announced that its personalized Discord Checkpoint recap will be rolling out to its users over the next few days. In previous years, Discord has announced a Checkpoint recap, but the start it released for it encompassed its global user base. Discord Checkpoint 2025 is the first time the platform is offering a year-in-review personalized for each of its individual users, provided they were active on the service enough to generate a Checkpoint recap, and that their privacy settings allowed the use of their data. What’s included in my Discord Checkpoint 2025? [Art: Discord] There are two main components of your Discord Checkpoint 2025. The first is a recap of your usage and interactions on the platform. Heres some of what your Discord Checkpoint 2025 will show you: How many messages you sent How many minutes in voice chat you spent How many emojis you posted What other Discord users you spent the most time with The servers you used the most But Discord 2025 Checkpoint will also display one of 10 Checkpoint cards. These cards represent 10 different types of Discord users. Your card will come with a matching avatar you can choose to display on your profile so other Discord users can see if youre in the same group. How can I access my Discord Checkpoint 2025? To access your Discord Checkpoint 2025, make sure you have the latest version of the desktop or mobile app. If you are using the desktop app: Click the flag option in the top-right corner. Your Checkpoint will be displayed. If you are using the mobile app: Tap the You tab in the bottom-right corner. Tap the Checkpoint banner. Your Checkpoint will be displayed. Can I share my Discord Checkpoint 2025? Yes, users can choose to share their Discord Checkpoint 2025. To share your Discrod Checkpoint, tap the Share button on the Summary page and then choose where youd like to share it. Discord Checkpoint 2025 will be available to Discord users until January 15, 2026.
Category:
E-Commerce
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