"Small insurer"

Trump bail: prosecutor calls for annulment

(Bild: AFP )

On Friday, New York Attorney General Letitia James called for the annulment of the security deposit of 175 million dollars (around 164 million euros) provided by former President Donald Trump in civil proceedings for business fraud.

In a document, the demand is based on the fact that the company guaranteeing the security deposit is too small and opaque. Instead of choosing "a large national insurance company that is licensed in New York", has experience in the area of security deposits and whose "liquidity is far greater than 175 million dollars", Trump preferred a "small insurer". The latter is not authorized to do business in New York and has a total liquidity of 138 million dollars.

Trump had paid the security deposit (bail) on April 1 and had thus escaped coercive measures by the New York public prosecutor's office, such as the freezing of accounts or the seizure of real estate.

Artificially inflated assets?
In the civil proceedings for business fraud, Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. were found guilty of artificially inflating the assets of their real estate empire over a period of years in order to obtain favorable terms from banks and insurance companies. Trump was therefore sentenced in February to pay a fine of around 355 million dollars plus interest, which amounted to around 454 million dollars.

Trump, who wants to run again for the Republican Party in the presidential election in November, appealed against the ruling and therefore did not have to pay the fine for the time being - but did have to deposit the security. Originally, Trump had been ordered to pay a sum of 454 million dollars.