A pair of foreign nationals hold a central role in plans to construct a new city in California, a project billed as being “backed by California investors,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
The project, called California Forever, was announced last summer after months of secretive land purchases worth almost $1 billion. The buyer describes itself as “a California company backed by California investors.”
However, the Journal uncovered legal documents as well as property and corporate records that show the project was initiated by former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek, an entrepreneur from Czechia, also known as the Czech Republic, who gained American citizenship partway through the project’s land acquisitions. The newspaper also reported that his “right hand man” at the company is investment manager Thomas Mather, who holds dual Irish and South African citizenship.
The involvement of foreign nationals in a project like California Forever could trigger a national security review by the federal government. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., an interagency panel that reviews transactions involving foreign investors also known as Cfius, reached out to California Forever last year for proof that its funding comes from the United States, and according to Sramek the company complied. The committee has not opened a formal investigation into California Forever, according to the Journal.
“Cfius absolutely could investigate,” Sramek told the newspaper in an interview. “Would Cfius conclude that this results in any kind of national security risk? I think that that’s unlikely.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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