Within the historic 57-page federal indictment charging Mayor Eric Adams with several counts of bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses is one mention of an unnamed businessman referred to as “Businessman-4.”
The indictment states that “Businessman-4” “operated a construction company in the New York City area,” and he “was not part of New York’s Turkish community” but was instead “a prominent member of a different ethnic community.”
After reviewing donations made to Adams’ campaign during December 2020, it appears “Businessman-4” may be developer Tolib Mansurov, a prominent member of the city’s Uzbek community. In addition to running his construction firm, United Elite Group, Mansurov is the founder of the Silk Road Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Brooklyn that serves Uzbek New Yorkers as well as the wider Central Asian community.
The timing of the donations and the description of “Businessman-4” appears to line up with the donations made by Mansurov and his employees in December 2020. According to the indictment, “Businessman-4” was allegedly told by Adams’ representatives in December of 2020 that straw donations would increase his influence with the mayor.
Eager to curry favor with Mayor Adams, “Businessman-4,” the indictment alleges, offered to write a $10,000 check from his personal bank account but was told by two Adams liaisons that he couldn’t donate more than $2,000 and that “Businessman-4” should instead direct his employees to contribute to the Mayor’s 2021 campaign and then reimburse the employees at a later date.
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On December 17, 2020, Mansurov donated $2,000 to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign. The same day, four other employees of Mansurov’s United Elite Group also donated $2,000 each to the mayor. No other donations listed in December matched the description listed in the indictment.
The time frame that these donations took place coincides with the time frame stated in the indictment in which “Businessman-4” was instructed by an Adams representative to funnel illegal donations into the campaign through employees.
Oybek Shakirov, Vmid Vakhidov, Nathan Ho, and Sherzod Kamolov were all listed as employees of United Elite Group on publicly listed campaign finance data and all four donated $2,000 each. In addition to working for United Elite Group, Shakirov also serves as the Treasurer for the Silk Road Foundation. Additionally, on December 11, 2023, Shakirov donated $5,000 to the mayor’s legal defense fund.
Over the years, Mansurov’s Silk Road Foundation has courted a relationship with City Hall. In July 2023, Adams hosted the Silk Road Foundation at City Hall for a roundtable discussion to hear their concerns regarding the Uzbek community. The following month, Adams declared that “New York is the Tashkent of America” at a flag-raising ceremony honoring Uzbekistan’s independence co-sponsored by Silk Road. In April 2023, the mayor attended a Silk Road-sponsored Iftar dinner at Emir Palace in Brooklyn. The mayor attended another Silk Road-sponsored Iftar event this past March.
Although it remains unclear who the liaisons between “Businessman-4” and City Hall are, Senior Muslim Liaison to Mayor Adams, Mohamed Bahi, has had a close relationship with Mansurov’s Silk Road Foundation. In addition to working for the mayor, Bahi is the founder of the charity organization Muslims Giving Back. In March, Silk Road Foundation co-sponsored one of the Muslims Giving Back events. Bahi was also present at the roundtable event at City Hall.
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Documented attempted to contact Mansurov several times as well as the four United Elite Group employees but they were not available. Vakhidov and Kamolov do not appear to be living in the United States. When reached, Ho refused to answer questions about the straw donations.
A representative for the mayor did not respond to Documented’s inquiry on the mayor’s relationship with Mansurov. Nicholas Biase, chief of public affairs for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, also declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
