Latin America
Related: About this forumTRUMP ORGANIZATION ASKING PANAMA PRESIDENT TO STOP ITS EVICTION FROM HOTEL IS CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTE
TRUMP ORGANIZATION ASKING PANAMA PRESIDENT TO STOP ITS EVICTION FROM HOTEL IS CLEAR CONFLICT OF INTEREST, WATCHDOG SAYS
BY JESSICA KWONG ON 4/9/18 AT 6:08 PM
President Donald Trumps company appealed to Panama's president to intervene after its hotel business management team was evicted from a luxury hotel in the country.
Britton & Iglesias, the firm representing the Trump Organization, on March 22 sent a letter, obtained by The Associated Press Monday, to Panamas President Juan Carlos Varela stating that they URGENTLY request your influence in relation to a commercial dispute involving Trump Hotel aired before Panamas judiciary.
The move has struck further alarm bells with ethics experts already concerned by conflicts of interest within the Trump administration.
This could be the clearest example weve seen of a conflict of interest stemming from the presidents role as head of state in connection with other countries and his business interests, Danielle Brian, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, told the AP.
More:
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-organization-panama-hotel-president-conflict-878147?piano_t=1
LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142033482
RDANGELO
(3,450 posts)In most cases when Trump is involved in the hotels, his company does not manage the building. There are reports that on the day that they were evicted, the Trump people were frantically shredding documents,
"Fintiklis claimed that the Trump Organization mismanaged the hotel and caused expenses to bloat as well as occupancy to collapse.
What probably behind this is money laundering. The bloated expenses are a way to bilk the owner of his proceeds. There is low occupancy because the buyers never move in; they pay in cash; the money goes to the bank and then to another account. The bank and Trump take a cut.
Judi Lynn
(160,981 posts)Still hard to believe he's in the White House instead of a federal prison.
Judi Lynn
(160,981 posts)In this March 5, 2018, file photo, a man removes the word Trump off a marquee outside the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama City after an arbitrator declined to reinstate the Trump management team. (Arnulfo Franco/AP)
By Ana Cerrud and David A. Fahrenthold April 9 at 5:56 PM
PANAMA CITY Lawyers representing President Trumps company last month wrote directly to the president of Panama, asking him to intervene in a legal fight over the Trump International Hotel in the nations capital and warning that the case could have repercussions for Panamas reputation.
The law firm, Panama-based Britton and Iglesias, wrote in Spanish to President Juan Carlos Varela on March 22 to urgently request your influence in relation to a commercial dispute regarding the Trump hotel.
At the time, the majority owner of the Trump hotel Cypriot-born investor Orestes Fintiklis had kicked out the Trump Organization as the hotels manager, after a ruling from a low-level Panamanian judge. The presidents company was seeking to retake control.
The request was extraordinary: The U.S. presidents company was asking the leader of a U.S. ally to intercede on its behalf, disregarding Panamas separation of powers.
More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/warning-of-repercussions-trump-company-lawyers-seek-panama-presidents-help/2018/04/09/9e3fbb8e-3c2f-11e8-8d53-eba0ed2371cc_story.html