$1bn series of land sales near US military base causes investigation
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WSJ states that for the past five years, investment group Flannery Associates bought nearly 22,000 hectares of land in Solano County, California, and much of the purchased land borders Travis Air Force base.
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An overview of the Travis Air Force Base flight line during Wings Over Solano at Travis Air Force Base, California, on May 14, 2022 (US Air Force)
According to a Wall Street Journal report on Friday, citing anonymous officials, a series of land acquisitions totaling nearly $1 billion near a major military base in California has raised suspicions and led US authorities to launch an investigation.
The report states that for the past five years, investment group Flannery Associates bought nearly 22,000 hectares of land in Solano County, California, and much of the purchased land borders Travis Air Force base - home to military aircraft from the US Air Mobility Command for transporting military personnel and supply.
Flannery Associates spent approximately $800 million on the land, making it the largest landowner in the county.
The company is registered in the state of Delaware and is not publicly required to disclose information about its owners, but the acquisitions raised suspicions about the owners’ origins and their intentions for the land.
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The WSJ stated that investigations into Flannery have been conducted for eight months.
Congressman John Garamendi, the ranking Democrat on the US House Armed Services Committee’s readiness panel, told the WSJ: "We don’t know who Flannery is, and their extensive purchases do not make sense to anybody in the area. The fact that they’re buying land purposefully right up to the fence at Travis raises significant questions".
Both Garamendi and California congressman, Democrat Mike Thompson, requested an investigation into the acquisitions by the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), which can advise the US government to block foreign acquisitions for security reasons.
An attorney for Flannery declared to the WSJ that the firm is managed by US citizens with 97% of its capital coming from US investors, and the rest from the UK and Ireland. Further details about the owners and investors were not provided but stated that “any speculation that Flannery’s purchases are motivated by the proximity to Travis Air Force Base is unfounded.”
Over the years, per the WSJ, Flannery has formulated plans for the use of the purchased land, ranging from renewable energy and related projects to farming “new types of crops or orchards,” and leasing it to olive growers.
County supervisor Mitch Mashburn told the WSJ that most of the purchased land is dry farmland and expresses doubt "that land can turn a profit to make it worth almost a billion dollars in investment.”
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A congressional aide relayed to the WSJ that authorities have failed to confirm or deny if it is US-owned, but if CFIUS does take up the case, Flannery may be served an order to reveal information about its owners.
