Donald Trump is expected to pay a fine of more than $450 million after his conviction in New York for fraud. The ex-president wants to appeal – but he has to pay the money as deposit. This is proving difficult.
Donald Trump is unable to raise $464 million in bail to protect his New York properties from seizure. US media reported this on Monday, citing Trump's legal team.
The Republican presidential candidate doesn't have much time left to raise the sum.
Donald Trump threatens to lose control of his real estate
After a New York court found the ex-president guilty of real estate fraud in mid-February and sentenced him to pay a high fine, Trump declared that he would appeal. As his lawyers now explain, the 77-year-old is neither in a position to raise the deposit himself nor has a guarantee company been found.
Trump has until March 25 to deposit the full amount while he appeals Judge Arthur Engoron's decision. If he doesn't do this, Attorney General Letitia James could seize Trump's assets, especially his prestigious properties, without an additional court order.
Bail offices reject Trump
Trump's lawyers therefore asked the appeals court to delay the enforcement of the verdict; the amount of the bail was also completely disproportionate. “Enforcing an impossible bail requirement as a condition of the appeal would cause obvious irreparable harm to the defendant,” the lawyers continue.
Your client contacted four surety brokers, who in turn contacted 30 surety companies – without success. They spent “countless hours” negotiating with “one of the largest insurance companies in the world.”
Many insurers would only accept cash or securities as collateral for such a sum, but not real estate, according to a statement from broker Gary Giulietti hired by the Trump team. In addition, the companies typically required “collateral of approximately 120 percent of the judgment amount” – in this case, approximately $557 million. In addition, bonuses would be due that Trump would not receive back even after a successful appeal.
The Trump team had already called for the bail to be reduced to $100 million.
Sources:NBC; CNN; “New York Times”; Reuters.
