Donald Trump has made millions from licensing his name to a development used to launder drug money – we reveal in our new investigation out today.
What went on at the Trump Ocean Club in its early days? Watch our film to find out – and then share to spread the word on Trump’s shameless business dealings in Panama:
No time to watch the film? Read on for the key findings…
The Trump Ocean Club in Panama was Trump’s first international licensing deal and one of his most lucrative.
Our investigation shows that a raft of dubious characters bought units or brokered deals at the Trump Ocean Club, and some of these early sales were crucial to the financing that got it built. Here’s what we found:
- Initial projections indicate that Trump was set to make $75.4 million from the development by 2010.
- The project came at a crucial time for Trump: he had recently emerged from his fifth business bankruptcy and he needed to salvage his reputation as a successful and legitimate businessman.
- He appears to have turned a blind eye to the sources of funds used to buy units at the Trump Ocean Club. Buyers included one notorious Colombian fraudster, David Murcia Guzmán, who laundered drug money through real estate purchases in the U.S. He has recently completed a nine-year sentence in a U.S. prison, and is expected to serve a further 23 years for fraud and money laundering in Colombia.
- This is how it worked: Units were bought in bulk, sales were made in cash, and secretly owned companies were used, hiding the identities of the people buying the properties – all warning signs for money laundering.
Trump may not have deliberately set out to facilitate money laundering in his business dealings at the Trump Ocean Club and he wasn’t in charge of selling the units. But he was happy to take his cut while doing little to keep it legitimate/above board.
Get the full facts and relevant responses from our investigation, Narco-a-Lago: Moneylaundering at the Trump Ocean Club, Panama – download now or read it online.
If you’re in the U.S. be sure to watch On Assignment with Richard Engel tonight at 9 pm EST on MSNBC for more.
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