US mosques and New York skyscraper seized over Iran links

In an amended civil lawsuit filed Thursday, prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan are seeking the forfeiture of Alavi's 60% stake of 650 Fifth Ave.--known as the Piaget building--and its other assets in the U.S., including properties in New York, California, Texas, Virginia and Maryland.

The building in Midtown Manhattan was built in the 1970s by a foundation set up by Iran's former shah. The foundation was later renamed Alavi.

As today's complaint alleges in great detail, the Alavi Foundation has effectively been a front for the government of Iran, according to  Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. The complaint alleges that for two decades, the Alavi Foundation's affairs have been directed by various Iranian officials, including Iranian ambassadors to the United Nations, in violation of a series of American laws.

The  lawsuit doesn't specify what the properties prosecutors are seeking to seize are beyond their street addresses. A search of the addresses revealed they include properties occupied by a mosque in Queens, N.Y.; private Muslim schools in Houston and in Rockville, Md.; and an Islamic nonprofit group in Carmichael, Calif.

The U.S. government had previously filed an action last year to seize the 40% stake of Assa Corp. alleging the company is a front for Iran's state-owned Bank Melli. The bank is subject to U.S. sanctions for allegedly funneling money to Iran's nuclear-weapons program.