United States: Trump paid $ 110,000 fine for “obstructing” a tax investigation – 20 Minutes

It’s a slap on the wrist. Former US President Donald Trump has paid a fine of $110,000 for “obstructing” a major tax evasion investigation conducted since 2019 by New York State justice, a spokesperson announced on Friday. Donald Trump was ordered by the New York Supreme Court on April 25 to pay $10,000 a day as long as he refused to provide accounting and tax documents as part of a civil investigation by the State Attorney General. , Letitia James, against the family group Trump Organization. “On May 19, Donald Trump paid $ 110,000 for the services of the Attorney General,” a spokesperson for Letitia James, elected magistrate of the Democratic Party, announced in an email on Friday. Letitia James and the Republican billionaire have been engaged in a fierce procedural battle for months. On February 17, the prosecutor had obtained a New York judge ordering Mr. Trump and his children Donald Jr. and Ivanka to testify under oath as part of this investigation, where she suspects “fraudulent” tax practices. A decision against which the Trumps, who accuse Letitia James of “political witch hunt”, have appealed. Criminal investigation against the Trump organization But the New York justice had also demanded accounting and tax documents from the Trump Organization before March 31. Faced with Donald Trump’s refusal, Letitia James had therefore obtained on April 25 that he be sentenced for “obstruction”. On May 6, however, the New York judge had suspended the counting of days fine and decided that Trump would have up to to Friday May 20 to pay for the period April 25 – May 6, i.e. 110,000 for 11 days. So he did on Thursday. According to Leticia James’ spokesperson, the Trump camp also had until Friday to submit “sworn statements” relating to the Trump Organization’s request for accounting and tax documents. . These documents were indeed collected and produced by a third-party firm on Thursday, according to the same source. The judge must now decide whether the Trump camp has met all the demands. Letitia James suspects the Trump Organization of having “fraudulently” overstated the value of real estate properties when applying for bank loans and of having understated them with the tax authorities to pay less taxes. Donald Trump is also confronted with a criminal investigation by the Manhattan prosecutor: the Trump Organization and its financial director Allen Weisselberg were charged with tax evasion. They have pleaded not guilty and the trial is due to begin this year.