Donald Trump was unable to provide the $464 million bail required by a New York court to stay the execution of a fraud conviction against his company, the former US president's lawyers said on Monday. Trump faces asset confiscation.
The case concerns a fine of $464 million ordered by a New York court in February for a multi-year practice of inflating the value of the Trump Organization's assets in order to secure loans and credits from financial institutions. Trump requested that the enforcement of the sentence be stayed while the appeal is considered, but for this to happen, he must provide bail for the full amount by next week.
Donald Trump's lawyers explain
As representatives of the former president stated on Monday USA, this step turned out to be “practically impossible” because all the insurance companies they contacted refused to issue such a guarantee. According to information provided by Trump's lawyers, 30 companies did not want to accept real estate as collateral.
“While it is my understanding that the Trump Organization is in a strong liquidity position, it does not have a billion dollars in cash or equivalent,” the statement said. Trump's lawyers described the sentence and bail as “grossly disproportionate” and asked for a lower bond of $100 million.
If the court does not agree to this request or does not extend the deadline, Trump will be obliged to pay the penalty from March 25. New York State Attorney General Letitia James has said she is prepared to begin confiscating his assets if the former president runs out of cash.
Trump considers the punishment unfair
The former president considers the punishment unfair. He estimates that no one was harmed as a result of his activities, and the experts who estimated the true value of his property actually underestimated it.
Additionally, the judge presiding over the case, Arthur Engoron, also banned Trump from becoming a director of any New York company for a period of three years.
Reuters recalled that in March, Trump was able to post a bail of $91.6 million in another case, regarding the defamation of columnist E. Jean Carroll. In this case, he is appealing against the court's ruling that the former president defamed the journalist by denying that he had sexually assaulted her.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/SHAWN THEW