#21. If at First, You Don't Succeed (2008)
In which Trump once again demonstrates the art of the (failed) deal to build Trump Tower Moscow, but connects with Pavel Fuks, another oligarch with alleged ties to Russian intelligence and its Mafia.
As I wrote earlier, in Trump Russia Timeline post #19, 2004-2006 Moscow! Moscow! Moscow!, Bayrock managing director Felix Sater oversaw several attempts to help Trump realize his dream of building a Trump Tower Moscow, but none of his initiatives reached fruition.
Nevertheless, in 2008, Trump made another stab at it, this time working with Pavel Fuks, a Ukrainian-born businessman who had made a fortune during Moscow’s post-Soviet real estate boom.
Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in 1971, Fuks navigated the Wild West-like chaos of the Nineties well enough to become one of Moscow’s most prominent real estate developers. In a world dominated by murderous mafioso, ruthless oligarchs, and a Kremlin-run mafia state, Fuks’ firm, Mos City Group, thrived, and helped him amass a fortune of $740 million. Other factors in his ascent, according to multiple investigative reports, were his deep ties to Russian organized crime and, according to both U.S. and Ukrainian authorities, his connections to Russian intelligence.
Although Fuks was later ostracized by the Kremlin, when he signed the preliminary contract, he was still very much an insider who was embraced by Moscow’s elite and flush with capital.
Having chased a Moscow deal since the late 1980s (see 1987 The KGB Reels Him In), Trump was not about to give up. He had been introduced to Fuks through Tamir Sapir, the co-owner of Joy-Lud Electronics, a small outfit that sold Trump TV sets for the Hyatt Grand Central when it was developed by Trump, and which was reportedly a KGB front (see 1980 The KGB Sets Its Trap).
Trump began talking with Fuks in 2005 and before long the latter was hosting Donald Jr. and Ivanka in Moscow, and showing them potential sites for what Trump envisioned as a glittering centerpiece of the Russian capital. At the same time, to build up his brand in Russia, Trump registered the “Trump” trademark in Moscow, Sochi, and St. Petersburg, positioning himself to cash in on a market awash in oligarch wealth and state-directed growth.
While all this was going on, Trump was weighing other Moscow proposals, including one put together by Felix Sater. But Trump saw Fuks as the ideal partner to help him break into the Moscow real estate world: well-financed, politically connected, and capable of navigating the opaque world of Russian markets. Fuks already had a solid track record of building skyscrapers in Moscow, and his plan may have been the most concrete proposal that had been put forth. Trump’s children were in Moscow to help put the deal together.
Moreover, the contracts were in motion, and they reflected Trump’s new business model that focused on franchising rather than real estate development: Fuks would handle the financing and construction, while Trump would lend his name and collect a hefty licensing fee, along with a share of future profits.
But negotiations broke down in 2008 when Trump demanded $20 million up front just to license his name. Fuks countered with a $10 million offer, paid in installments, and Trump refused. That it collapsed over a licensing fee is a testament to Trump’s obsession with monetizing his brand at all costs.
So much for the art of the deal!
Even though the deal collapsed, Fuks remained a critical figure both in the post-Soviet business world and in the treacherous criminal underworld consisting of the Russian Mafiya, with its exotic and ritualistic criminal codes, financial crime syndicates, intelligence agents, and Kremlin fixers.
Over time, it became increasingly apparent that Fuks, with his privileged access to top officials and his alleged mastery of money laundering, was not merely a real estate developer. That became more than apparent in 2017 when, according to The New York Times , he hired Rudy Giuliani to lobby on behalf of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, where Fuks then resided. All of which later made him a footnote in Giuliani’s shadow diplomacy in Ukraine as one of several oligarchs and intelligence figures caught up in the murky campaign to fabricate dirt on the Bidens during the 2020 election, an operation that led to Trump’s first impeachment, in 2020.
But even after the Trump Tower Moscow deal fell apart, Fuks paid $200,000 to attend Trump’s inauguration—a move that led to a lawsuit against the broker who failed to come up with the promised tickets. That same year, Fuks was banned from entering the United States for reasons that were never made public.
Notwithstanding his privileged status in Moscow, Fuks was later sanctioned by both Russia and Ukraine.
Cast of Characters
Pavel Fuks
Ukrainian-born developer who made his fortune in Moscow’s real estate boom. Once an insider among Kremlin-aligned elites, Fuks entered negotiations with Donald Trump in 2005 to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow—a deal that collapsed in 2008. In 2017, he paid Rudy Giuliani $400,000 for lobbying and separately spent $200,000 to attend Trump’s inauguration. He was assessed by U.S. and Ukrainian authorities as having ties to Russian intelligence and organized crime.
Felix Sater
Russian-American businessman and longtime Trump associate with a criminal past and reported links to U.S. and Russian intelligence. Sater was pursuing a separate Trump Tower Moscow deal during the same period, on a site across the Moskva River from Fuks’s proposal.
Rudy Giuliani
Trump’s personal lawyer and key figure in Trump’s extortion campaign in Ukraine to fabricate dirt on the Bidens. In 2017, he was reportedly hired by Fuks for $300,000 to represent Kharkiv’s interests, though their dealings later would intersect with Giuliani’s murky network of Russian operatives and oligarchs.
Tamir Sapir
Georgian-born immigrant and former Joy-Lud partner. Like Kislin, he rose from poverty to billionaire and was later involved in the Trump SoHo project. Allegedly tied to Russian organized crime, though he denied any such links. He lived in Trump Tower and died in 2014.
If you have tips, leads, or insights, please reach out—I am always looking for new information. And don’t forget to comment and share your thoughts!
For the complete story on how Trump became a Russian asset, buy House of Trump, House of Putin, and/or American Kompromat. And don’t miss my latest book, Den of Spies!
House of Trump, House of Putin
The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia
American Kompromat
How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery
Den of Spies
Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House
The Republicans have stolen several of our elections. Mostly because we let them!😡
What a dream team! Thank you both!