Tamir Sapir company to pay fines
A Cayman Islands company, Ruzial Ltd., has pleaded guilty to using a company yacht to illegally import elephant tusks, a mounted tiger head and bar stools covered with reticulated python hides, among several other illegal items.
New Yorker Tamir Sapir, the company’s owner, signed a document saying the company will pay $150,000 in criminal and civil fines. Of course, Tamir Sapir won’t need installment loans or any other type of financing to pay the fines. He is a billionaire. He probably has shoes worth more than that.
Other illegal items
The SunSentenel.com says that a Ruzial yacht, measuring 150 feet, was used to import items protected by the Endangered Species Act. The name of the yacht was M/Y Mystere CI. Here is a partial list of the items found on Mystere:
- zebra-skin rugs
- jaguar-skin rugs
- lion-skin rugs
- leopard-skin rugs
- tiger-skin rugs
- cigarette cases covered with reticulated python skin
- an entire stuffed lion.
- elephant tusks
- mounted tiger head
- bar stools covered with python hides
The company pleaded guilty to illegally importing 29 items.
The trip
The Mystere arrived in the United States with the illegal items, which were mostly used to decorate and outfit the interior of the yacht, in 2007. It traveled here from Italy. The illegal items were discovered when the yacht was preparing to leave for a trip to the Caribbean.
Even though neither Tamir Sapir nor his company planned to sell the items in the U.S., permits are required to bring items like these into the country. Because Tamir Sapir’s company, Ruizial, did not obtain any permits, they are required to pay the $150,000 in fines.
Funny business?
Federal prosecutors say that the company called Ruzial Ltd. only exists for the purpose of holding the title to the yacht. Soviet-born billionaire Tamir Sapir owns several office buildings in Manhattan.
Though the $150,000 fines are practically loose change for Tamir Sapir, prosecutors do not take his actions lightly.
“The illegal trade in endangered wildlife robs directly from our future and the futures of our children and grandchildren,” stated Anthony V. Mangione, special agent in charge, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations. “It robs them of the opportunity to see these creatures in their natural environment. People who engage in this type of activity are criminals.”
Incident details
The Sun Sentinel explains what happened and how Tamir Sapir’s yacht was found to have illegal items:
The yacht arrived at Port Everglades on Dec. 18, 2007, to begin a Caribbean cruise. But a Customs inspector entered, saw all the wildlife parts and called in inspectors from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who found items from several protected species.
From the Endangered Species Act
According to Wikipedia, in the Endangered Species Act:
The most punishable offense is enforced upon those who knowingly break the law through acts of importing or exporting, taking, possessing, selling, delivering, carrying, transporting, or shipping—essentially trafficking endangered species without permission from the Secretary. Any act of knowingly “taking” (which includes harming, wounding, or killing) an endangered species is also subject to the same penalty.
I’m sure PETA is annoyed by this. Still, hunting endangered species for their skin isn’t really a good thing for people to do. Granted, it makes a lot of money on the black market, but a lot of these animals are in danger of extinction – you can get leather from cows, and there are enough stores that have stuffed specimens that weren’t freshly killed, probably for a lot less money than the black market stuff.