Donald Trump failed to disclose a $19.8 million loan from a company with historical ties to North Korea while he was president of the United States, according to a new report.
Documents obtained by the New York attorney general on Sunday and reported by Forbes point to a previously undisclosed loan owed by Trump to Daewoo, the South Korean conglomerate.
Daewoo was the only South Korean company allowed to operate a business in North Korea in the mid-1990s.
Forbes revealed that Trump’s relationship with Daewoo dates back at least 25 years. At one point, Daewoo partnered with Trump on a development project near the United Nations headquarters in New York, the Trump World Tower.
Trump and Daewoo continued to do business together, including using Trump’s name on six South Korea-based properties from 1999 to 2007, according to the magazine.
The outlet reports that the debt in question “arises from an agreement made by Trump to share a portion of his license fees with Daewoo.”
According to documents reviewed by Forbes, the balance of $19.8 million remained the same from 2011 to 2016. Five months into Trump’s presidency, the balance fell to $4.3 million, according to sources. documents that presented Trump’s finances as of June 30, 2017.
Shortly after, “Daewoo was bought out of its position on July 5, 2017,” the documents say, without revealing who paid the debt.
Forbes reports that while the loan was reported in internal Trump Organization documents, it was not disclosed in the former president’s public financial disclosure reports. Under disclosure laws, Trump was required to submit the documents to federal officials during his presidential campaign and after becoming president.
In 2016, Trump’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, said that Trump had disclosed all debts related to companies in which Trump had a 100% stake.
Despite the apparent gap in the disclosures, Trump may not have violated any laws, although the existence of the debt could still pose a conflict of interest.
While president, Trump bragged about his relationship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, saying in 2018, “He likes me, I like him. We get along well” and that “we fell in love”.
The two leaders met in person, but the relationship fell through.
Meanwhile, on Monday, jurors began deliberating in the Trump Organization’s tax evasion trial in New York, in which the company is accused of setting up a criminal scheme that allegedly involved fraud and of tax evasion.