Dakota unit embroiled in Dutch fraud case

A two-bedroom apartment at the Dakota has become a central element of an international criminal case, according to the Wall Street Journal. The unit at the tony Upper West Side co-op at 1 West 72nd Street is one of several properties worldwide owned by Jan-Dirk Paarlberg, a Dutch investor who faces four-and-a-half years behind bars after being convicted on fraud, forgery and money laundering charges. But while the home on the corner of Central Park West, which Paarlberg bought in 2001, is now in contract for $4.4 million, Dutch prosecutors claim they have rights to the apartment. Currently, the U.S. Attorney’s office plans to hand over the proceeds to the Dakota sale, presumably as restitution in Paarlberg’s case. Coincidentally, the unit was once owned by Alphonse Fletcher, a former co-op board president at the building who filed suit this week against the building, alleging racial discrimination. [WSJ]

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