Tevfik Arif's business connections to Donald Trump have become the source of speculation among conspiracy theorists and the media, but are there any truths to these stories?
Tevfik Arif is the owner of Bayrock Group, one of the primary developers of Trump SoHo Tower.
Tevfik Arif is an international entrepreneur, investor and property developer. In the United States, Arif is best known as one of the primary developers of the Trump SoHo Tower in New York City.
Arif's partnership with Donald Trump coupled with his past position working within the Soviet Union Ministry of Commerce and Trade at the beginning of his professional career has made the real estate developer the subject of numerous conspiracy theories in an attempt to establish a distant connection between the President of the United States and Russia. The fact that Arif has preferred to live a private life out of the spotlight has only added mystery and allure to these claims. But who exactly is Tevfik Arif and what is his history with Donald Trump?
Exposing the conspiracy surrounding Tevfik Arif
After much public scrutiny, there is no evidence to show Arif or his company, Bayrock Group, facilitated communications or negotiations between Donald Trump and Russian officials. Any attempt to connect Arif or his company to nefarious or illegal activity involving Donald Trump and Russian officials have proven slanderous and libelous to Arif and Bayrock Group.
Tevfik Arif's connections to Donald Trump have proven to be nothing more than a legitimate business partnership. While in the early stages of their partnership in the early 2000s, Bayrock and the Trump Organization did discuss plans to create an international chain of Trump-branded hotel complexes in Turkey, Moscow, Ukraine, and various other countries, these ambitions were never more than discussions that did not get past the planning phase.
The working relationship that developed between Arif and Donald Trump ended before the latter announced his candidacy for President of the United States in 2015. This fact is often omitted when attempts are made to use Tevfik Arif to connect Trump to Russia. The timelines of the development of Trump SoHo Tower and Donald Trump's campaign for president do not line up.
Who is Tevfik Arif?
Tevfik Arif was born and grew up in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. He also has Turkish citizenship through his parents. Arif studied international relations at the Moscow Trade and Economic Institute. After receiving his degree, the young Arif began working in the Soviet Union's Ministry of Commerce and Trade. During his time as a civil servant, Arif rose from a chief economist to the deputy head of the Ministry's Hotel Management Department.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Arif left public service in pursuit of business opportunities that were prevalent during the privatization of industries that followed the dissolution of the communist government regime in the 1990s. Arif and his brother acquired businesses in the mineral and natural resources industry in Kazakhstan, including a chromium plant and other holdings. Arif also worked as a consultant and field manager for other international businesses in the same industry. He owned or managed several additional projects including an import and export firm and jewelry business.
Soon, Arif began investing in property development and real estate. His first projects were concentrated in Kazakhstan, Turkey and other Central Asian and European countries. He developed a passion for hotel and luxury development. One of his early projects included a luxury hotel chain in Turkey.
Arif establishes Bayrock Group
Success set the stage for Arif's next challenge, the American real estate market. In 2001, Arif established Bayrock Group, a real estate development and investment firm, in New York City. Bayrock's first projects were modest and included the redevelopment of a shopping plaza in the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn.
As Bayrock's success continued to grow, Arif moved the firm's offices to the heart of the competitive Manhattan real estate market into a space in Trump Tower. It was not long before the company began negotiations to work on projects with the building's famous owners, The Trump Organization.
Arif, viewed by the New York establishment as a foreigner at the helm of a little-known company, had ambitions to develop luxury real estate projects throughout the city. By teaming up with the Trump Organization, Bayrock could achieve the level of luxury recognition that came with the Trump brand.
The development of the Trump SoHo hotel and condominium complex was soon underway. The project would be developed and built by Bayrock in partnership with the Sapir Organization. The building would lease the Trump name from The Trump Organization through a licensing and management agreement that awarded the future president's company 18% equity in the project. The Trump Organization did not invest any of its own capital in the development of Trump SoHo Tower.
Trump SoHo was completed in 2008 and opened in 2011. The 46-story building was intended to be the first of a series of similar projects between Bayrock Group and The Trump Organization in places such as Florida and Arizona. However, the economic downturn that hit the United States real estate market in 2008 prevented the completion of these planned projects.
Instead, the economic situation forced Tevfik Arif to refocus his business interests back to Central Asia and Europe, effectively ending the working relationship between Bayrock Group and The Trump Organization. Bayrock Group has been dormant in the United States since around 2011.
