The inside story of the $13M Mercedes linked to Ryan Wedding and seized by the FBI

At $11.9 million US, the agreed-upon price for the Mercedes was steep. 

But the buyer — an alleged money launderer for a transnational criminal network — was accustomed to dealing in eye-watering sums.

CBC News has uncovered new details about the purchase last year of a rare Mercedes-Benz supercar, recently seized by the FBI amid its investigation into Canadian fugitive Ryan Wedding.

This spectacular seizure, thought to be the most valuable vehicle ever confiscated by U.S. federal authorities, made headlines around the world. 

After all, the roofless 2002 CLK-GTR Roadster is considered a unicorn by car aficionados and was apparently coveted by Drake. Believed to be one of only six of its kind ever built, the FBI said the silver stunner was worth $13 million US — $1.1 million more than the purchase price last year — as it highlighted the seizure last week in a social media post.

According to a bill of sale obtained by CBC News, the vehicle was purchased last year by Rolan Sokolovski, a Toronto-area jeweller recently identified by U.S. authorities as one of Wedding’s two "chief money launderers."

It’s not clear whether Wedding — a one-time Olympic snowboarder accused of leading a murderous cocaine-smuggling empire — ordered the purchase. But the vehicle appears to fit into what the U.S. Treasury Department recently described as a “complex web” of global assets used to launder Wedding’s vast sums of drug money.

The purchase agreement dated Aug. 8, 2024, features Sokolovski's signature and names his company Diamond Tsar as the buyer. Treasury officials allege Sokolovski acted as a bookkeeper for Wedding’s $1-billion US criminal enterprise, using Diamond Tsar as a front to launder its funds.

In that role, the 37-year-old Sokolovski allegedly handled hundreds of millions dollars' worth of cryptocurrency for Wedding, one of the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives, and procured jewelry and vehicles for him.

Wedding, 44, is believed to be hiding in Mexico, with the U.S. offering a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to his capture.

As for that Mercedes, it’s like new — it has only been driven 22 kilometres.

The bill of sale lists two exotic car dealerships, based in Missouri and Florida, as being involved in the deal. With a $2-million deposit from Sokolovski, the Mercedes was to be delivered to Curated Vintage Supercars in Miami and kept there until the remainder of the $11.9-million purchase price was “paid in full.”

Later that month on its Facebook page, Curated heralded the CLK-GTR as part of “possibly the most epic arrival in the history” of the dealership.

With a powerful 6.0-litre, V12, 612-horsepower engine and a top speed of 335 km/h, this isn’t just a sports car. It’s a race car.