Two Deutsche Bank employees, who have lent more than $ 300 million to the Trump organization, were interviewed by prosecutors, sources familiar with the matter said.
Interviews took place after the November presidential election, and people said they focused on common questions about how bankers rate loans and the criteria for writing.
The questioning of the Trump organization or the bank’s dealings with the president was not specific, people said, and one person said it was the beginning of the process. Additional interviews are expected in the future, they said.
According to a source familiar with the matter, prosecutors interviewed at least one employee of Aion, an insurance broker who worked with the president’s company.
Aion’s spokesman confirmed the company had received a saponin and said it was cooperating with the investigation. A spokesman declined to comment on any employee interviews. Representatives from Deutsche Bank and the district attorney’s office, led by Cyrus Vance, also declined to comment. The Deutsche Bank subcommittee was set up as part of last year’s investigation and said it was cooperating with approved investigations.
Interviews with Trump colleagues have come as prosecutors wait for the U.S. Supreme Court to reach a decision on a major arbitral tribunal for the president’s tax revenue. The president has lost several legal challenges to his long-standing accounting firm Mazars USA in an attempt to block Sapona for eight years of his personal and business records and tax revenues.
Last month, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump’s latest attempt, paving the way for its implementation. The president’s lawyers must stay in the Supreme Court, or stop, and a verdict and a verdict is expected any day.
Prosecutors say Masar records are important to the investigation. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Inquiry is the only criminal investigation facing Trump, his business and his family, that will continue after he resigns. Trump has discussed granting pardons to his family members, perhaps himself, CNN reported, but those pardons do not protect him from a state criminal charge.
In court cases, the district attorney’s office has recommended that the investigation include tax fraud, insurance fraud and plans to defraud its lenders. According to those familiar with the matter, they recently backed the Trump organization for records related to fees paid to advisers, including money paid to a company controlled by the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
The Trump organization has refused to make any mistake and claims applicable taxes have been paid.
Last year, attorneys with the district attorney’s office interviewed the president’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, at least three times about his knowledge of the Trump organization’s business activities.
Cohen testified before Congress in February 2019 that the Trump organization had been accused of manipulating its financial statements in line with its desired outcomes. Cohen said Trump “devalued his assets to reduce his real estate taxes.” He accused company officials of playing with financial numbers when dealing with insurance companies and Deutsche Bank.
In particular, Cohen accused the president of raising the value of his assets at times, including the submission of documents to Trump Deutsche Bank as part of an attempt to bid for the Buffalo Bills football team. Trump never borrowed.
Correction: The previous story title misrepresented Aion as an insurance broker.
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