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[jelly]

Nothing particularly concrete or damning as of yet but interesting coincidences and links.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/16/deutsche-bank-examined-trump-account-for-russia-links

The scandal-hit bank that loaned hundreds of millions of dollars to Donald Trump has conducted a close internal examination of the US president’s personal account to gauge whether there are any suspicious connections to Russia, the Guardian has learned.

Deutsche Bank, which is under investigation by the US Department of Justice and is facing intense regulatory scrutiny, was looking for evidence of whether recent loans to Trump, which were struck in highly unusual circumstances, may have been underpinned by financial guarantees from Moscow.

The Guardian has also learned that the president’s immediate family are Deutsche clients. The bank examined accounts held by Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, her husband, Jared Kushner, who serves as a White House adviser, and Kushner’s mother.

The internal review found no evidence of any Russia link, but Deutsche Bank is coming under pressure to appoint an external and independent auditor to review its business relationship with Trump.

After Trump’s victory in the US election in November the bank “double-checked” its records, the source said. The bank has also fielded numerous media inquiries about recent Trump loans, which were viewed as unorthodox among some bankers familiar with the transactions.

According to an analysis by Bloomberg, Trump now owes Deutsche around $300m. He has four large mortgages, all issued by Deutsche’s private bank. The loans are guaranteed against the president’s properties: a new deluxe hotel in Washington DC’s old Post Office building, just round the corner from the White House; his Chicago tower hotel; and the Trump National Doral Miami resort.

In recent years the disgraced bank has been hit by a series of scandals. Last month the UK and US imposed record fines of $630m. Deutsche failed to prevent money laundering by its Moscow branch involving at least $10bn of Russian cash, regulators found.

Deutsche’s client relationship with Kushner was made public in a 2013 article in the New York Observer, which Kushner owned. Ivanka Trump, who formerly served as an executive in Trump’s real estate business, is also a client of Deutsche. She now works as an unofficial adviser in the White House.

Kushner’s mother, Seryl Stadtmauer, is also a client, according to a person familiar with the matter. The bank’s internal review looked at the president’s accounts as well as his wider family, it is understood.

Trump and his businesses have a long history with the German bank, which this month posted its latest net loss, of €1.4bn. It has been the only financial institution willing to lend Trump significant sums. In the 1990s other Wall Street banks, which had previously extended him credit, turned off the tap after Trump’s businesses declared bankruptcy four times.

In November 2008 the German bank took the unusual step of suing Trump after he failed to repay $40m of a $640m real estate loan. Trump countersued. The tycoon argued that Deutsche had contributed to the global recession, which had depressed property prices. He demanded $3bn in damages.

Deutsche’s astonished lawyers described Trump’s lawsuit as frivolous and demanded immediate payment. The two parties settled in 2010.

The bank then quietly re-established its relationship with Trump via Deutsche’s private bank. The private wealth division deals with ultra high-net worth individuals, typically with assets in excess of $50m.

A person familiar with the matter said the relationship resumed because Deutsche Bank hired a group of private wealth bankers including Rosemary Vrablic, who had previously worked at Citigroup and Bank of America and was Trump’s personal banker. Vrablic began working for Deutsche in 2006.

When he was questioned about his bona fides on Wall Street by the New York Times, Trump referred to Vrablic as the “boss” of Deutsche Bank, although she is not the group’s chief executive. A glowing profile of the banker appeared in Kushner’s New York Observer.

Sources in the banking world have expressed astonishment that Deutsche would continue lending to Trump in the wake of his $3bn 2008 lawsuit. Asked whether this was normal practice, one former Deutsche Bank employee, who worked for the bank in New York, said: “Are you kidding me?”

Another former CEO of a rival investment bank, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “The idea that a bank would walk away from an enforcement lawsuit on a defaulted loan with a litigious borrower because they hired a banking team is preposterous.”

The US Department of Justice is still investigating the Russian scheme. In December Deutsche agreed to pay the department $7.2bn. The fine related to the mis-selling of residential mortgage-backed securities and other activities during 2005-7. The US originally asked Deutsche to pay $14bn.

 

[GAF A60-Rim A]

What the fuck? The bank itself is full of scandal and should be the last party involved in investigating itself.

 

[jeffram]

"In November 2008 the German bank took the unusual step of suing Trump after he failed to repay $40m of a $640m real estate loan. Trump countersued. The tycoon argued that Deutsche had contributed to the global recession, which had depressed property prices. He demanded $3bn in damages."

Only Trump...

 

[Jonnax]

Deutsche failed to prevent money laundering by its Moscow branch involving at least $10bn of Russian cash, regulators found.

Lol, I guess it already happened.

 

[War Peaceman]

I mean they aren't going to say bad things involving the president given their current situation...

 

[Oppo]

Lol, I guess it already happened.

yes. "lol".

 

[BlueTsunami]

300 million in the hole? If being in debt is a good thing, according to Trump, he must be winning.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

Lol, internal investigation.

That'll produce results

 

[theechrisfox]

Just another "oh, yes. of course. we'll look right into it."

 

[Jonnax]

yes. "lol".

Well have you heard the phrase "Laughing all the way to the (Deutsche) Bank"?

 

[indigo-cyclops]

What the fuck? The bank itself is full of scandal and should be the last party involved in investigating itself.

Precisely.

 

[Shadybiz]

Is this like when Alfa Bank "investigated" their ties to Trump and came back like 10 hours later and said "Nope, nothing here"?

 

[mnz]

Trump countersued. The tycoon argued that Deutsche had contributed to the global recession, which had depressed property prices. He demanded $3bn in damages.

This logic is AMAZING. I guess all those bad morgage owners should have just sued Goldmann Sachs then.

 

[Mivey]

What the fuck? The bank itself is full of scandal and should be the last party involved in investigating itself.

Maybe they want to find some dirt on him and blackma .. eh .. persuade him to pay his debts sooner.

 

[Yankee Ruin X]

So if he's $300 million in debt he only has to visit his private golf club 100 times over the next 4 years to recoupe this at $3 million a pop with tax payers money. Wow he is so smart......