Conflicts of Interest 3-14-2017

14, March 2017                                                Conflicts of Interest

Conflict of interest charges have been levelled against  Donald Trump who has large outstanding loans estimated at $300m with the German Deutsche Bank, his largest creditor.

Deutsche has been accused of massive money-laundering violations of US law beyond its failure to establish adequate financial controls. It is estimated that $10B of Russian money has been transferred to the bank.

Top Democrats on the House financial services committee, are concerned the Department of Justice will soft-pedal the investigation in deference to Mr. Trump especially as the investigation will fall under the purview of the morally challenged Sessions.  There are additional concerns that Trump’s administration extensive ties to Russian government officials and oligarchs would add additional pressure for the Doj to steer clear of  serious investigations.

Furthermore, it is likely that Deutsche may get a free pass and save billions in fines  by granting favorable restructuring terms for Trump’s outstanding loans.

In another disturbing development, Democratic senators are demanding a response from commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, seeking clarification of what role he played as vice-chair of the Bank of Cyprus. It was reported that the White House instructed Ross to ignore such demands increasing misgivings and suspicions that money may been sent to the Trump organization or to the RNC to influence the 2016 election. The stench of massive corruption is getting stronger by the day.