{"id":20224,"date":"2017-06-19T14:38:33","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T19:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/?p=20224"},"modified":"2017-06-19T14:38:33","modified_gmt":"2017-06-19T19:38:33","slug":"trumps-conflicts-interest-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panamaadvisoryinternationalgroup.com\/blog\/trumps-conflicts-interest-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Conflicts of Interest in Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Carolyn Kenney and John Norris report in Center for American Progress of Trump’s conflicts of interest here in Panama.<\/p>\n

Legal trouble in Panama<\/p>\n

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In 2006, Donald Trump signed<\/a> a contract with developer Roger Khafif to develop a $400 million Trump-branded club called Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower Panama<\/a>, which includes a 70-story hotel, luxury condos, restaurants, and a casino.<\/p>\n

When the hotel complex opened<\/a> in July 2011, it was the tallest building<\/a> in Latin America. Just a few months after the opening, however, Khafif\u2019s company, Newland International Properties Corp., defaulted<\/a> on its bond debt, and in 2013, the company filed for bankruptcy. The property remains open, however, and the Trump Organization still receives revenue for it. According to an Associated Press analysis of court filings, while the bankruptcy affected Trump\u2019s licensing fees, his payout<\/a> was between $32 million and $55 million. The Associated Press noted that Trump was \u201cthe only party to the original deal to come out ahead.\u201d The deal for the club is a licensing and management agreement in which Trump provides the use of his name for the property and in which he previously managed it in exchange for royalties and management fees.<\/p>\n

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It was at the opening of the Trump Ocean Club in 2011 that Trump made the acquaintance<\/a> of then-Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, who left office in 2014. During the opening ceremony, Trump referred to Martinelli as \u201cmy friend.\u201d Martinelli also reportedly tweeted out an image of his invitation to Trump\u2019s inauguration but has since deleted the post.<\/p>\n

According to Bloomberg<\/a>, Martinelli has a stake in Panama\u2019s Global Bank Corp., which has a subsidiary that was a co-trustee of Trump Ocean Club, \u201cmaking the bank responsible for receiving revenues, collecting the Trump Organization\u2019s licensing fees and setting up disbursements.\u201d Martinelli, however, claims to not have been involved in that arrangement. Martinelli, who currently resides in exile in Miami, is facing criminal charges in Panama and is now wanted by Interpol<\/a>. In September 2016, the current Panamanian government submitted a petition to extradite him to the country, where he has been accused of \u201cinsider trading, embezzlement and using public money to wiretap business and political adversaries.\u201d Martinelli has denied the charges, calling them \u201cpolitical persecution.\u201d The United States has not yet acted on either the petition from the Panamanian government to extradite Martinelli or Interpol\u2019s international arrest warrant. Trump is set to receive<\/a> the current president of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, at the White House on June 19.<\/p>\n

The Trump Ocean Club, at least according to reporting<\/a> by The Washington Post<\/em>, is attractive to Russian investors, who have purchased many units in the complex. As many as 60 Russians or Russian-born Americans have bought into the 630-unit complex. The Washington Post<\/em> noted that Trump\u2019s partner in the hotel, Roger Khafif, traveled sometime in the mid-2000s to Moscow to lead a meeting with potential Russian investors. \u201cRussians like brands and Trump was famous in Russia,\u201d The Washington Post<\/em> quoted Khafif saying. Trump\u2019s business partner further noted that the early 2000s \u201cwere good days for Trump. He was the only man in town for real estate.\u201d In the interview, Khafif also recalled Trump hosting a sales event in 2008, which he said was attended by about a dozen potential Russian investors. According to The Washington<\/em> Post\u2019s<\/em> reporting, Trump Organization Chief Legal Officer Alan Garten \u201cacknowledged that developers of Trump projects have gone to Russia to sell and that the market there, like others around the world, have been fertile territory for the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Trump’s Conflicts of Interest<\/h4>\n
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