Donald Trump’s US$175 million bond to cover possible civil penalties for fraud was not enough, because the company pledging it was too small and opaque, the New York Attorney General said in a filing Friday.
The 77-year-old real estate magnate, who is tipped to be the Republican presidential nominee, is facing an unprecedented legal challenge in New York where he is also on trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments to a porn star on election night in 2016. victory.
Trump was ordered to pay $355 million, rising to $454 million including interest, after being found guilty in February of inflating his assets to get favorable loans and insurance terms.
The request was frozen pending appeal — on the condition that Trump secure a guarantee that would be executed if he lost his legal challenge.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the case against Trump, wrote that Trump’s team “failed to meet their burden of ensuring that there was sufficient collateral to support the bonds.”
James also argued that the bond underwriter is unreliable because it relies on lax foreign financial regulations to be able to increase the amount of “surplus” it has — the cash needed to pay some of Trump’s fines if he loses. .
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The underwriter, Knight Specialty Insurance, was “a small insurance company not authorized to write business in New York,” James said.
Trump was initially required to post bail equal to the full sentence amount, but an appeals court reduced it to $175 million.
The judge in the case, Arthur Engoron, will hear arguments over accepting the bond on Monday, at the same time Trump will be in neighboring Manhattan court for his criminal trial. (AFP/Z-3)
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