A federal investigation into the financing behind Donald Trump's foray into social media has grown to involve the FBI, the SEC, a division of the Department of Homeland Security and what is being described as "one of the government’s most elite anti-money-laundering teams" according to a new federal filing.
According to a deep dive by the Washington Post's Drew Harwell, there is no indication that the former president and his Trump Media have been accused of wrongdoing in the case involving the troubled Truth Social thus far, but there are questions over his involvement in "a business arrangement that federal agents now allege was undermined from its inception by financial fraud."
According to the report, "One investor, the Miami Beach businessman Anton Postolnikov, had amassed a huge stake in Digital World. Postolnikov, who was born in Russia and is the nephew of a longtime Russian government official, sold most of his stake just days after Trump’s announcement sent the stock soaring, according to an FBI agent’s search warrant affidavit. His profit: $22 million," adding, "Another, a Ukraine-born nightclub manager turned private equity investor named Michael Shvartsman, told his business partners and a neighbor about the moneymaking opportunity, according to the affidavit — before securing $18 million in profits for himself."
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That money churn raised red flags for investigators which has led to the deal being held up by the SEC as other government agencies became involved, and the $300 million raised that Truth Social had been expecting to keep operating being held up.
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An insider trading investigation involving a merger between a Miami-based company Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC) group and Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (TMTG) has exposed the nearly $23 million windfall pocketed by Russian-American businessman Anton Postolnikov, according to The Miami Herald.
Postolnikov owns a Caribbean bank servicing the porn industry and loaned $8 million to Trump's media company which is the parent of Truth Social, according to several news reports.
The Russian American owns homes on the exclusive Fisher Island and is the nephew of a former high-ranking Russian government official who served under Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the outlet.
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Imagine you sold someone a glass engagement ring that you claimed was a real diamond. Then, when a judge found you liable for fraud, you tried to use the “diamond ring” as collateral for an appeal bond. That’s the level of chutzpah we’re working with here.
Of course no one will lend Donald Trump the half-billion dollars he needs to put up while appealing his fraud case. Would you?
In recent months, the former president has racked up a series of costly legal judgments for his many misdeeds. And when I say “costly,” I mean slightly pricier than the Trump-brand gold sneakers. In fact, after summing up the judgments across all of Trump’s cases so far, he already owes more than the entire gross domestic product of several island nations — put together.