How DT's company violated the US Embargo against Cuba

[Jacque67 7,328]

A company controlled by Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, secretly conducted business in communist Cuba during Fidel Castros presidency despite strict American trade bans that made such undertakings illegal, according to interviews with former Trump executives, internal company records and court filings.

Documents show that the Trump company spent a minimum of $68,000 for its 1998 foray into Cuba at a time when the corporate expenditure of even a penny in the Caribbean country was prohibited without U.S. government approval. But the company did not spend the money directly. Instead, with Trumps knowledge, executives funneled the cash for the Cuba trip through an American consulting firm called Seven Arrows Investment and Development Corporation. Once the business consultants traveled to the island and incurred the expenses for the venture, Seven Arrows instructed senior officers with Trumps companythen called Trump Hotels & Casino Resortshow to make it appear legal by linking it after-the-fact to a charitable effort.

The payment by Trump Hotels came just before the New York business mogul launched his first bid for the White House, seeking the nomination of the Reform Party. On his first day of the campaign, he traveled to Miami where he spoke to a group of Cuban-Americans, a critical voting bloc in the swing state. Trump vowed to maintain the embargo and never spend his or his companies money in Cuba until Fidel Castro was removed from power.

http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-cuban-embargo-castro-violated-florida-504059

[Jacque67 7,328]

Original article has been updated with a document as proof of the accusations and some other juicy stuff...

publication of this article on Newsweek.com, Kellyanne Conway, Trumps campaign manager, was asked about the allegations on the television program The View. She replied that, They paid money, as I understand, in 1998, but went on to say that Trump had never invested in the Caribbean nation. In that statement, Conway has acknowledged that Trump broke the law. Paying the money for the business trip and meetings in Cuba regardless of whether it resulted in an additional investment or casino deal would directly violate the law.

A former Trump executive who spoke on condition of anonymity says the company did not obtain a government license prior to the trip. Internal documents show that executives involved in the Cuba project were still discussing the need for federal approval after the trip had taken place.OFAC officials say there is no record that the agency granted any such license to the companies or individuals involved, although they cautioned that some documents from that time have been destroyed. Yet one OFAC official, who agreed to discuss approval procedures if granted anonymity, says the probability that the office would grant a license for work on behalf of an American casino is essentially zero.

#willkellyannebegiventheboot????SAD!

[floridadave 195]

The Crookedest Donald strikes again. Too bad he can't be prosecuted. Everyday something new. We need a spreadsheet just to keep track of all his illegalities.