Claude Cohen, a former American businessman operating an auction house out of Monaco and Hong Kong under the auspices of the ‘Monaco Legend Group’, is currently under investigation for tax evasion and money laundering on behalf of the former first lady of Angola.
A senior Department of Justice official in New York who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that “Mr. Cohen and his business partner, the former first lady of Angola, Tatiana Kukanova Regan, created the British Virgin Island offshore corporation named Duna Enterprises Group in 2007. Regan, a Russian born geologist, was married to the former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos. She is also considered a person of interest in the investigation”.
According to Le Monde, Tatiana Kukanova Regan held over 4.5 million USD in multiple accounts at HSBC bank until 2007. Coincidentally, or not, during the same time-period that Tatiana’s millions were transferred in 2007 from HSBC Bank in Switzerland, the former first lady of Angola partnered up with Claude Cohen. According to the Panama Papers, Duna Enterprises also held an account at HSBC Bank.
The Monaco Legend Group, operating under various other names such as “Monaco Legend Boutique”, “Monaco Legend Motors”, etc., are owned and controlled by Claude Cohen.
The companies of Mr. Cohen specialize in auctioning expensive cars, watches, briefcases, and other expensive artifacts to the highest bidder.
The auctioneer reportedly sells over 240 million euros in expensive goods annually. According to sources deeply involved in the investigation, the auction houses and offshore accounts of Claude Cohen and his associates were initially used to procure the purchase and sale of expensive time pieces and other artifacts on behalf of Russian oligarchs, many of whom have been sanctioned by the EU and United States. The proceeds were allegedly later laundered to newly setup front companies created to avoid sanctions after Russia invaded the Ukraine.
According to another senior DOJ official, “The amount of money suspected to have been laundered by Claude Cohen and the Monaco Legend Group since the Russian invasion of Ukraine alone amounts to nearly 87 million dollars. We are currently performing forensic accounting across multiple jurisdictions to determine if Russian politicians and oligarchs in concert with Claude Cohen bypassed international sanctions”.
The investigator explained, “We suspect he used the Monaco and Hong Kong auction houses with their tax-free accounts, along with other offshore corporate entities set up with his Russian born partner Tatiana Kukanova Regan to send and receive money.”
The method of using art and goods to launder money on behalf of Russian sanctioned individuals isn’t new. According to an article published by The Guardian, experts claimed “Russian oligarchs are able to exploit legal loopholes around Britain’s art market to evade sanctions and launder money.”
Claude Cohen Former American Citizen
The senior DOJ official explained, “The United States Federal Tax laws require all American’s living abroad to file taxes. Despite renouncing citizenship, Mr. Cohen is suspected of evading paying taxes for many years by using his Italian passport while hiding the existence of his U.S nationality from banks”
The investigator added, “Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is a great example. He was born and raised in the USA until the age of 5. After selling his London home in 2009, he didn’t pay any capital gains taxes to the USA. It would be 12 years later in 2022 that Mr. Johnson would pay an undisclosed sum to the American IRS.”
Like the former British PM, Claude Cohen is also a former American citizen. Therefore, Mr. Cohen was legally required to report all personal and corporate revenue and holdings to the IRS. Since Claude was also legal corporate officer and benefactor of Duna Enterprises with the former first lady of Angola along with other various auction houses using the name “Monaco Legend” during the same timeframe he was an American citizen, he is subject to audit by the US Federal Internal Revenue Service despite renouncing his American citizenship.