South African Citizen Buys an Upscale New York Townhouse for Over R1 Billion in Upmarket Neighbourhood

• An unnamed South African has made history by purchasing a New York townhouse for over R1 billion
• The buyer is said to have sealed the deal on their new home over a FaceTime call
• South Africans are a little bit suspicious about the sale, and some believe money laundering may be at play here

NEW YORK - A wealthy South African has spent a fortune on an apartment after sealing the deal on a FaceTime call in an off-market deal.

The person paid over R1 billion($57 million) for a New York townhouse located in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The apartment has six bedrooms, an indoor pool, a sauna and staff rooms.

According to BusinessInsider, the property is nicely situated near Central Park and in the same vicinity as upmarket boutiques on Madison Avenue.

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The 855 square metre apartment costs R113 100 per square metre, making it one of the most expensive in the Upper East Side, according to Ryan Serhant, of the Million Dollar Listing reality show.

The townhouse was originally listed for R912 million; however, additional renovations and furnishings took just over the R1 billion mark. According to the Wall Street Journal, the seller purchased the property for R292 million ($16 million) in 2012. The seller is linked to an Italian grocery chain, Felice Lasalvia di Clemente.

The deal took over a year to go through due to a language barrier, as the seller is Italian.

South Africans share their thoughts on the billion rand purchase

@gpreller said:

"Any money laundering here? Do we know the name of the buyer? I'm sure SARS will be looking into the transaction as well as the tax affairs of the individual."

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@FREGMNT said:

"Money laundering."

@kalonkreature said:

"But this one has to be our tax money. We can all go and live there."

@kofi_nawee said:

"Sounds like state capture to me."

@_thabang_m said:

"Probably why we will eventually get greylisted by the FATF, this person is in South Africa, yet this sale took a year to finalize due to a language barrier. There’s no South African who cannot understand English, much less a billionaire. I suspect this could be a Chinese national."

Man shows off lux small apartment: Mzansi impressed by his way of living

In other news, Briefly News reported that As South Africans, stretching the rand is something Mzansi does very well, and one local man who shared his extraordinary studio flat on his socials maintained that position.

@Savage_Maveriick shared pictures of what could have easily been a boring small flat to a new, more comfortable, homey apartment that could entertain a small number of guests.

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His creative make-over was made up of whites, greys and light beige colour schemes, and the furniture seemed to have been placed logically and organised to open up the small space.

Source: Briefly News