USA: Charges against Trump organization for tax fraud

The Trump organization has been investigated in New York for more than two years, and there is now a first charge. Donald Trump is not yet directly involved – but that could change.

After years of investigation, the New York Public Prosecutor’s Office is bringing charges against the Trump organization’s business practices for the first time.

In the indictment published on Thursday in a New York court, the group and its CFO Allen Weisselberg are accused of systematically evading taxes for at least 15 years. This involves taxes on services worth more than $ 1.7 million. Weisselberg and the Trump Organization pleaded “not guilty”. Ex-US President Donald Trump is not personally charged.

“The purpose of the system was to compensate Weisselberg and other executives of the Trump organization in a way that was“ not on the books ”,” the indictment said. The beneficiaries therefore received significant parts of their income in an indirect and disguised manner, which was not reported to the tax authorities. The non-taxed services included payments for apartments, cars or the schooling of relatives.

The prosecution hopes to get the 73-year-old Weisselberg to cooperate and testify against Trump in order to improve his own prospects in the case. Along with family members, he is considered a key figure in the company.

The expected indictment against the Trump organization is the result of more than two years of investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. That investigation had also begun investigations into former Trump attorney Michael Cohen for hiding payments to women who allegedly had affairs with Trump. Most recently, they had led to a dispute in the Supreme Court over the release of Trump’s tax documents.

Donald Trump was once known as the real estate tycoon as the head of the Trump organization, which consists of many smaller companies. According to its own statements, the group has tens of thousands of employees in several high-rise buildings, hotels or on golf courses.

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