And a damn good plan it was

Sater told BuzzFeed News today that he and Cohen thought giving the Trump Tower’s most luxurious apartment, a $50 million penthouse, to Putin would entice other wealthy buyers to purchase their own. “In Russia, the oligarchs would bend over backwards to live in the same building as Vladimir Putin,” Sater told BuzzFeed News. “My idea was to give a $50 million penthouse to Putin and charge $250 million more for the rest of the units. All the oligarchs would line up to live in the same building as Putin.” A second source confirmed the plan. -BuzzFeed

It didn't work out, Trump got elected.  Using ill gotten gains to build hotels is as good as any other use for the money.  Economically, the bigger money is building housing within the range of the Moscow middle class, the volume * price product should be highest across the median class.

More to the point, marketing American hotel brands is an OK business, not necessarily all on the up and up.