Russian mobster asks $8M for UES duplex

A 3,500-square-foot Upper East Side duplex has hit the market for $7.85 million, now that its owner, convicted Russian mobster Anatoly Golubchik, is in jail for five years for his participation in an illegal gambling ring run out of Trump Tower.

The listing for the six-bedroom, four-bathroom abode at 971 Madison Avenue and 76th Street is represented by brokers Katherine Gauthier and Kate Joynt of Douglas Elliman. The posh prewar pad on the eighth and ninth floors of the building has been vacant since Golubchik and his wife purchased it for $5 million in 2011, the New York Daily News reported.

The mobster, who gained entry to the  building in part due to a recommendation by real estate mogul Steve Witkoff of the Witkoff Group, was sentenced last spring along with billionaire art dealer Helly Nahmad, who was also convicted in the global betting scheme.

The gambling ring allegedly laundered more than $100 million in proceeds during their run. Golubchik will be forced to forfeit the apartment if he hasn’t given the government $3.5 million of the more than $20 million in assets he is required to hand over for his crimes. Neither the apartment’s brokers nor U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara responded to the paper’s requests for comment on Golubchik’s legal woes. [NYDN] — Heather Grossmann

Correction: An earlier version of the story misstated Golubchik’s situation. He is currently in prison.