Washington.- When former President Donald J. Trump returned to his office at Trump Tower in New York last week for a brief stay, accompanied by his son Eric Trump and a top executive of a Saudi Arabian real estate company to sign an agreement that raised new questions and conflicts. interest for his newly launched presidential campaign.
The deal is with a Saudi real estate company that intends to build Trump-branded hotels, villas and golf courses in Oman as part of a $4 billion real estate project. The deal continues a practice that was popular for Trump family businesses until Trump was elected president: selling trademark rights to an offshore project in exchange for a generous licensing fee.
But what makes this project unusual, and certainly prompts questions about this new transaction, is that by partnering with the Saudi company, Trump himself is also becoming part of a project backed by the Omani government. have been
The deal leaves Trump as a former president hoping to win back the White House, effectively with a foreign government partner who has complicated relations with the United States, including the war in Yemen and Its role consists in trying to eliminate other important issues. and agenda items for Washington.
The deal that Trump signed was with the Saudi Arabian real estate company Dar Al Arkan, which is leading the project in collaboration with the Omani government, which owns the land, and it is the most recent settlement between Trump and his family. This is the second deal signed recently that has direct financial ties. For a Middle Eastern government.
The Trump Organization also hosted the Saudi government-backed LIV golf tournaments at family-owned golf clubs in New Jersey and Florida. The Saudi government’s $620 billion Public Investment Fund financed LIV Golf’s effort, which paid for venues such as Trump National Doral in Miami and Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in New Jersey to host two of its tournaments this year.
The Trump administration, including Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, had close ties with Saudi Arabia during Trump’s tenure in the White House. Kushner also received financial support from the Saudi government, investing $2 billion in his newly formed private equity firm Affinity Partners.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for former President Trump’s campaign, responded to questions about the Oman deal, or whether Trump would now be more involved in his business, with a statement attacking the Biden administration.
The Oman deal was announced just as Trump was launching his third campaign for the White House, and the Trump family and Trump himself faced a series of civil and criminal investigations, including tax fraud allegations against the Trump Organization and its director. There are subjects. Longtime financier, Alan H. Weiselberg.
If the company is convicted, it faces fines and possible retaliation from lenders and business partners, who may shy away from doing business with an offender; A conviction could also present new political challenges for Trump. But the maximum possible fine in the tax fraud case is only $1.62 million, a small amount for the company. In his most recent financial disclosure report, filed in early 2021 when Trump leaves the White House, Trump reported assets of at least $1.3 billion.
