Trump’s Scottish and Irish golf resorts spur a
new round of scrutiny on his businesses
A watchdog group wants New York prosecutors to
investigate whether Trump filed false information on his annual financial
disclosures.
By ANITA
KUMAR 8/11/20, 8:18 PM CET Updated 8/12/20, 5:45 AM CET
U.S.
President Donald Trump appears to have inflated the value of his three golf
resorts in Scotland and Ireland in documents filed with the U.S. government,
according to a new examination of six years of financial records in the U.S.
and Europe. And the group behind the finding wants the discrepancy investigated
as part of a sprawling government probe into the Trump Organization‘s finances.
Trump
claimed the resorts — Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen and Trump Turnberry,
both in Scotland, and Trump Doonbeg in Ireland — brought in a total of about
$179 million in revenue on U.S. documents where he is supposed to list his
personal income. Records in the United Kingdom and Ireland indicate the
resorts‘ revenues were millions of dollars less — about $152 million — and show
they actually lost $77 million after accounting for expenses.
Trump
claimed the Scottish resorts alone were worth at least $100 million total in
2018 on U.S. documents, but the U.K. records indicate that the resorts aren’t
worth anywhere near that because the debts exceeded the assets by about $80
million that year.
The
left-leaning American Democracy Legal Fund, a self-described government
watchdog group, is asking Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. to look
into whether Trump, who repeatedly brags about his wealth, violated the law by
filing false documents with the U.S. government to hide the financial health of
himself and his company, according to a letter dated Monday obtained by POLITICO.
The group is sending a similar letter to the FBI.
Vance
indicated in a court filing last week that he is investigating the president
for bank and insurance fraud as the prosecutor battles to obtain access to
eight years of financial records related to Trump and his businesses.
Trump has long been accused of inflating his income.
Trump’s
decision to maintain his grip on his sprawling real estate empire — despite his
pledge to put his business aside while in the White House — has cast a shadow
over his presidency. He faces numerous criminal investigations, lawsuits and
congressional inquiries over possible violations of the law as he refuses to
turn over financial documents and tax returns. The Supreme Court in July paved
the way for Vance to seek Trump’s records, ruling he is not immune from
criminal subpoenas while in office.
Trump has
long been accused of inflating his income. Last year, Michael Cohen, Trump’s
former attorney who was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a series
of charges, including tax evasion and campaign finance violations, testified in
front of a congressional committee that Trump has repeatedly exaggerated his
wealth in financial statements to banks and insurers.
“It was my
experience that Mr. Trump inflated his total assets when it served his
purposes, such as trying to be listed amongst the wealthiest people in Forbes,
and deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes,” Cohen said.
A Forbes
reporter said Trump went as far as disguising himself as another company
official to try to persuade the magazine to list him on its annual ranking of
America’s richest people.
The White
House, Trump Organization and Trump lawyer Sheri Dillon did not respond to
requests for comment about the documents, which are reviewed by the White House
and the Office of Government Ethics.
An
administration official pointed out an OGE regulation that appears to indicate
the White House and the agency would be blameless if a disclosure was in error.
“The reviewing official need not audit the report to ascertain whether the
disclosures are correct,” according to the regulations. “Disclosures will be
taken at ‘face value’ as correct, unless there is a patent omission or
ambiguity or the official has independent knowledge of matters outside the
report.”
Trump
ignored calls to fully separate from his namesake company, which comprises more
than 500 businesses and includes properties in nearly two dozen countries,
after he was sworn into office. He still owns his business, though he asked his
adult sons to run it. His holdings were placed in a trust designed to hold
assets for his benefit from which he can draw money at any time without the
public’s knowledge.
Trump has
been required by law to submit assets and income on a personal financial
disclosure statement as both a candidate and president since 2015. But he
always appears to lists his company’s revenue instead, not taking into account
expenses or debt, allowing him to hide his company’s losses and his actual
income. The United Kingdom and Ireland require businesses registered in their
countries to file yearly statements of finances that include revenues, assets
and liabilities. The documents are submitted annually, though they are due at
different times of the year.
Some
records for the three resorts the Trump Organization owns in the U.S., U.K. and
Ireland have been examined before but the latest review is more comprehensive,
including six years of records from three countries. Pounds and euros were
converted into U.S. dollars.
“Our
research has uncovered numerous examples of the Trump Organization reporting
potentially fraudulent financial details to the U.S. Office of Government
Ethics in addition to apparent inconsistencies, misstatements, and lies in
President Trump’s annual financial disclosure filings regarding its overseas
golf courses,” American Democracy Legal Fund President Brad Woodhouse said.
Trump
claimed his two resorts in Scotland brought in a total of about $116 million in
revenue between 2014 and 2018, according to documents filed with the U.S.
Office of Government Ethics in which he is supposed to list his personal
income. The resorts’ revenue was listed as about $106 million, according to
records filed with Companies House, a British government agency that tracks
revenue, expenses and profit. But those documents also say the resorts lost
about $65 million after accounting for expenses. Turnberry, which Trump visited
in 2018, and Aberdeen have not reported a profit for at least five years,
according to the U.K. records.
Trump and
Vice President Mike Pence separately visited the Irish resort in 2019, drawing
criticism.
Trump
claimed his resort in Ireland, Trump Doonbeg, brought in at least $10.7 million
each year in revenue, totaling $62.7 million, between 2014 and 2018, according
to U.S. records. The resort’s revenues were less — about $46 million —
according to the Ireland Companies Registration Office, and reported a loss
each year for a total of $12 million over the same period.
Trump filed
his most recent financial disclosure July 31, showing revenues of at least $440
million in 2019, up from $434 million in 2018, though the total could be more
because filers use ranges and not specific amounts. Together, the three resorts
brought in $43 million, but U.K. and Irish records for 2019 won’t be released
until the fall. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence separately visited the
Irish resort in 2019, drawing criticism.
The group’s
letters question the values and incomes as well as whether Trump has documented
his loans.
He
indicated on U.K. records that he and the Trump Organization have given loans
to the Scottish resorts, including a $53 million personal loan to the Aberdeen
property, that are not listed on his financial disclosures. A filer is required
to list personal loans.
In the
past, he has reported both personal and business loans. For example, Trump in
his financial disclosure has reported he he owes more than $50 million to
Chicago Unit Acquisition LLC, a limited liability company in Delaware, part of
the Trump Organization,
Kathleen
Clark, an ethics lawyer who previously worked for the Senate Judiciary
Committee and now teaches at Washington University School of Law, said legitimate
discrepancies are possible but the massive differences in numbers must be
examined.
“That
raises flags about whether he’s being accurate on either,” she said. “It
begs for an investigation.”
Authors:
Anita Kumar
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