Просто бизнес

[tijd.livejournal.com]

Сет Хеттена, автор книги Trump/Russia: A Definitive History, раскопал интересную историю из 1987: Узнав, что советское правительство ищет западных партнеров для организации тотализатора/казино на московском ипподроме, Трамп через свои контакты предложил услуги.

The deal included Dr. Svyatoslav Fyodorov, a renowned Russian eye surgeon, and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, whose name was personally referenced in the conversations, Kornhauser told me. The idea was to cater to the growing numbers of Westerners in Moscow and attract much needed foreign currency into the Soviet Union. <...>
The Moscow casino group wanted an American company to run the gaming facility at the Hippodrome. So Kornhauser contacted a few of the major players in the gaming industry in the fall of 1987: Carnival, Bally’s, Harrah’s, and Trump.
Kornhauser says he had several calls with Trump’s longtime executive assistant, Norma Foederer, who died in 2013. He never spoke directly to Trump.
Everyone passed, except Carnival. The cruise ship operator had some experience in international gaming and did express interest in the Hippodrome casino, but the deal ultimately fell through.
Despite what Kornhauser was led to believe, Trump was interested in the casino deal.
“Unbeknownst to me, he had his own contacts to Russia,” Kornhauser told me. “He reached out to his contacts in Russia. They passed the name on. He contacted the Russian team. They told the Germans, who told me.”
“The Russians who talked to him said ‘No thank you,'” he said. “If you want to do business you go through the proper channels.”
https://trump-russia.com/2018/06/18/trumps-1987-moscow-casino-deal/



Более недавний бизнес изучили в McClatchy, задокументировав более $100 миллионов, потраченными покупателями из России и бывшего СССР на покупку квартир в США, принадлежащих Трампу. То, что за квартиры платили наличными и по завышенной цене косвенно указывает на возможное отмывание денег.

Buyers connected to Russia or former Soviet republics made 86 all-cash sales — totaling nearly $109 million — at 10 Trump-branded properties in South Florida and New York City, according to a new analysis shared with McClatchy. Many of them made purchases using shell companies designed to obscure their identities. <...> There's nothing illegal about accepting cash for real estate. But transactions that do not involve mortgages — which account for one in four residential purchases in the country — raise red flags for law enforcement officials as it could be a way to commit fraud or launder money.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/white-house/article210477439.html

Ранее похожее сообщение, с более осторожной оценкой и включая толко Флориду, было в расследовании Reuters:

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald J. Trump downplayed his business ties with Russia. And since taking office as president, he has been even more emphatic.
“I can tell you, speaking for myself, I own nothing in Russia,” President Trump said at a news conference last month. “I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia.”
But in the United States, members of the Russian elite have invested in Trump buildings. A Reuters review has found that at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers in southern Florida, according to public documents, interviews and corporate records.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-trump-property/

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