Helly Nahmad, Heir of Controversial Art-Dealing Dynasty, Indicted in International Gambling and Money-Laundering Scheme

Hillel "Helly" Nahmad, owner of the Helly Nahmad Gallery located in Manhattan's glamorous Carlyle Hotel, is one of thirty-four people indicted for playing a role in an extensive gambling and money-laundering scheme that stretched from Russia to the United States. On Tuesday, April 16, FBI agents filled the gallery, conducting a raid that began at 7:30am. The windows were covered up with brown paper and a sign with the words "We are closed for renovation, please ring the bell or call."

According to the indictment, Helly was one of the leaders of a "high-stakes illegal gambling business run out of New York City and Los Angeles that catered primarily to multimillionaire and billionaire clients," laundering over $100 million in gambling money. Nahmad is also facing charges that he helped fund this international operation, wiring over $1 million from his father's Swiss bank account to an American account to help finance the gambling operation. He is also facing an additional charge of fraud, selling a painting worth $50,000 for $300,000. The indictment also names Molly Bloom, infamous for her role in arranging high-stakes games for celebrities, including Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck (though authorities have not commented on whether these games were part of the subject of the indictment). Prosecutors also named Alimzahn Tokhtakhounov as the leader of the Russian group, overseeing money-laundering generated by sport-betting operations in the former Soviet Union that served Russian oligarchs. Mr. Tokhtakhounov was also infamously accused of working with unidentified members of a Russian crime gang and skating officials to rig the Olympics in 2002. That indictment alleged that he helped secure a gold medal for Russia in the pairs event in exchange for a victory for the French ice dancing team, though he never stood trial.

The unfolding story is the stuff of movies, from Russian mobsters purchasing Olympic victories to high-stakes poker games filled with celebrities. The scandal is of particular interest to those in the art world, as Helly is heir to an art-dealing clan known for their incomparable cash of Impressionist and Modern works and their aggressive buying and selling tactics.