Readers of PGurus may be aware of one the ways in which a bribe is given. In my series titled BringBackBillions, I explained in Part 8[1] how money can be moved by over-invoicing or under-invoicing. Is this what transpired between Trump and a Russian billionaire?
In what could be another albatross around Trump’s neck, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has requested the United States Treasury Department to turn over records of a lucrative real estate deal that Trump made with a Russian billionaire, Dmitry Rybolovlev[2].
Terms of the Deal
In 2004, Trump bought a 6.3-acre property titled Maison de L’Amitie, for $41.35 million. This property is located in Palm Beach, Florida, one of the priciest property locations in the United States. Four years later, in 2008, Trump sold this property to Rybolovlev. The selling price? $95 million.
So what, you ask? Trump may have bought the property on the cheap (after all, he made his billions in the real estate) and flipped it for a handsome profit. According to Senator Wyden, there are a couple of holes in that argument –
- Trump’s financial position in 2004 was precarious. Where did he find the money to buy this property?
- The said property appraised for only $65 million in 2008, suggesting that the sale price was inflated by around $30 million.
- Rybolovlev’s name finds mention in a list of Russian oligarchs released late last month by the Treasury Department. Nearly 100 wealthy and well-connected Russians were placed on the list because of “their closeness to the Russian regime and their net worth,” the department said.
Trump did acknowledge in 2016 that he bought this property at an auction and turned around and sold it for close to $100 million. He also asserted that he has never met Rybolovlev in person.
What makes this interesting is that this is also one of the transactions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is looking into, about the Russian connection to the US Presidential elections of 2016[3].
References:
[1] How should India proceed to get back billions from Tax Havens – Aug 16, 2016, PGurus.com
[2] Senator seeking admin records on Trump’s sale of Palm Beach mansion to Russian – Feb 10, 2018, CNN
[3] Is Trump’s fight with the FBI a Mission Impossible? Jan 27, 2018, PGurus.com
His first book NDTV Frauds has been published and is an Amazon Bestseller.It ranked second among all eBooks that were self-published in 2017.
His second book, The Gist of GSTN which too is available on Amazon as an e-Book and as a paperback.
His third book, The Rise and Fall of AAP is also available in print version or as an e-Book on Amazon.
His fourth book, C-Company just released to rave reviews and can be bought as a print version or as an e-Book on Amazon.
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