An appeals court in New York has significantly reduced the security deposit required of former President Donald Trump following his conviction on business fraud charges. The court ruled on Monday that Trump only had to pay $175 million (162 million euros) into a judicial account or provide guarantees of that amount. He was given ten days to do this.
Trump had previously been given a bail amount of $454 million, which he was supposed to post by Monday. However, his lawyers announced last week that the billionaire was unable to do so. The background is that most of Trump's assets are tied up in real estate and are not immediately available to him in cash.
If the US Republicans' likely renewed presidential candidate is unable to provide security, he will have to expect the New York public prosecutor's office to block his accounts or seize properties – that would be a great disgrace and potential for the right-wing populist, who praises himself as a brilliant businessman a setback for his election campaign.
In the civil case for business fraud, Trump and his sons were found guilty of artificially inflating the assets of their real estate empire over the years in order to obtain favorable conditions from banks and insurance companies. As a result, Trump was fined around $355 million plus interest in February, totaling around $454 million.
The 77-year-old has lodged an appeal against the verdict and therefore does not have to pay the fine for the time being. However, he must provide security in order for an appeal process to take place.
