Missing $19.8mln loan owed to Daewoo found on Trump documents

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A Forbes report on Sunday, citing documents acquired by the New York state attorney general, showed evidence of an unreported loan of $19.8 million owed by former US president Donald Trump to the South Korean firm, Daewoo.

The loan was not disclosed by the former President, according to Forbes.

The $19.8mln balance remained the same from 2011 to 2016. But five months after Trump took office, the balance plunged to $4.3mln, as stated on Trump’s finances as of June 2017. Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s chief financial officer, declared the year before that Trump had disclosed all debts related to companies he had a 100% share in.

Trump and Daewoo collaborated on the Trump World Tower, near the UN headquarters in New York City. Trump’s name is even found on six South Korea-based properties established from 1999 to 2007.  Outlet reports allege, however, that the deals “stems from an agreement Trump struck to share some of his licensing fees with Daewoo."

Suspicion arises as the documents obtained by the attorney general stated that “Daewoo was bought out of its position on July 5, 2017,” without stating how and who paid the debt and without being disclosed on Trump's public financial disclosure reports. 

Although the amount was stated on the internal documents pertaining to the Trump Organization, Trump was required under disclosure laws to hand over the papers to the feds during his time as President and even before taking office. 

This may not surely indicate that laws may have been violated by Trump, yet the debt itself represents a conflict of interest.

In a series of other chaotic mess-ups Trump has made the last few years, jurors on Monday began their part in the Trump Organization tax fraud trial in the state of New York. The lawsuit against the company is based on the accusation of fraud and tax evasion.

During Trump's presidency, the Treasury Department refused to turn over the documents in the dispute over his tax returns. However, the Biden administration argued that it is clear from the federal law that the committee has the authority to review the tax returns of any taxpayer, including the President. 

Trump's arguments that the committee was overstepping its bounds and only wanted the records so they could be made public were rejected by lower courts, which agreed that the committee had broad authority to obtain tax returns.

Chief Justice John Roberts imposed a temporary freeze on November 1 to give the court time to consider the legal arguments made by Trump's attorneys, as well as the administration and the House of Representatives rebuttals.

#Trump's controversial mess-ups are many, from his gun, immigration, and international policies. pic.twitter.com/Ccsyz2k2aC

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 18, 2022