A leading Senate Democrat has called on the Treasury Department to turn over banking and real estate records related to Donald Trump’s 2008 sale of a six-acre Palm Beach estate to a Russian billionaire – a real estate flip that yielded Trump $95 million after paying $41 million for the property just four years earlier.
A leading Senate Democrat has called on the Treasury Department to turn over banking and real estate records related to Donald Trump’s 2008 sale of a six-acre Palm Beach estate to a Russian billionaire – a real estate flip that yielded Trump $95 million after paying $41 million for the property just four years earlier.
Original Title
Sen. Ron Wyden's Letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin
A leading Senate Democrat has called on the Treasury Department to turn over banking and real estate records related to Donald Trump’s 2008 sale of a six-acre Palm Beach estate to a Russian billionaire – a real estate flip that yielded Trump $95 million after paying $41 million for the property just four years earlier.
A leading Senate Democrat has called on the Treasury Department to turn over banking and real estate records related to Donald Trump’s 2008 sale of a six-acre Palm Beach estate to a Russian billionaire – a real estate flip that yielded Trump $95 million after paying $41 million for the property just four years earlier.
SoS SS Mitel States Senate
February 9, 2018
‘The Honorable Steven T, Mnuchin
Secretary of the Treasury
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Dear Secretary Mnuchin,
Lam writing to request any reports or documents that may exist in the Department of ‘Treasury's
custody pertaining to several real estate transactions involving property once owned by the
President and Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev.
In 2004, Donald Trump purchased a 6.3 acre Palm Beach estate, colloquially known as the
Maison de L’Amitie, for $41.35 million. Four years later, in July 2008, he sold that property to a
Florida LLC owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million." At the time of the
transaction, The Guardian noted that it was “the most expensive residential sale ever recorded”
in the United States.’ Palm Beach County property records show that the property was appraised
for $65 million the year of the sale.* Despite a claim by the Trump organization that the property
had been renovated, press reports indicate that the home was “uninhabitable. Mr. Ryboloviev
never lived in the home, and reportedly visited the property just once.>
‘After sitting vacant for several years, Mr. Rybolovlev received approval to tear down and
subdivide his $95 million purchase into three separate parcels of land.® According to public
records he has since sold two of those three parcels.’ In October of 2017 the South Florida
+ palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller's office, July 16, 2008; hita://ors.co.palm-
beach flus/or webt/details.asp?doc id=17079257
Donald Trump sells Florida mansion for record sum; The Guardian, July 17, 2008;
wn theguardian,com/worl/2008/jul/17/donaldteump.usa
® Palm Beach County Property Appraisers Office, accessed March 22, 2017
“Trump and the Oligarch, Politico Magazine, July 28, 2016; www, polltico.com/magazine/storv/2016/07 (donald
cump-2016-russian-tes-214116
5 Donald Trump and the mansion that no one wanted. Then came a Russian fertizer king; McClatchy, February 27,
2017; wuww.meelatchyde.com/news/nation-world/national/artcle135242694.htmL
only in Palm Beach: The $95 Mion Tear-Down; New York Times, August 27, 2016;
ww nytimes.com 2016/08/28/business/only-in-oalm-neach-the-95-milion-tear-down, html
7 palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller's office, November 38, 2016; http://oris.co,paim-
beach flusfor webi/detaik.asp?dac id=21503709
® Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller's offce, October 6, 2017; htp://oris.co.palm
beach fus/or webi/details asp?doc id=21951542Business Journal reported, “With a recent property sale, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev
has recouped another chunk of the $95 million he paid in 2008 to buy a Palm Beach mansion
from Donald J. Trump.” In November 2016, the 2.72-acre lot at 515 North County Road was
sold by County Road Property LLC, an anonymous shell company owned by Rybolovlev, to a
different anonymous trust, 515 North County Trust, for $34.34 million. In October 2017,
Rybolovlev sold a second parcel, again through his anonymous shell company, to an anonymous
company called 535 North County Road for $18.8 million per acre.”'" Both sales appear to have
been to shell company LLCs with no clearly discernible beneficial owners; “the 515 North
County Road Trust” and “535 North County Road LLC,” respectively.
According to a Bloomberg report, the 2008 sale has become a point of interest for the U.S.
special counsel investigating possible ties between the President and Russia.'!
It has been widely reported that many financial institutions stopped lending to Mr. Trump due to
his business practices in the 1980s and 1990s." In December of 2008, Trump Entertainment
Resorts missed a $53.1 million bond interest payment.'® Less than two months later the company
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptey protections while Mr. Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, quit the
board.'* That same month, Mr. Trump filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, identified by the
Guardian as “the only financial institution willing to lend Trump significant sums,” to avoid a
$40 million payment on a construction loan that he had personally guaranteed,'*!* In the context
of the President’s then-precarious financial position, I believe that the Palm Beach property sale
warrants further scrutiny,
It is imperative that Congress follow the money and conduct a thorough investigation into any
potential money laundering or other illicit financial dealings between the President, his
associates, and Russia. I therefore request that you provide the Senate Finance Committee with
any reports or documents related to the July 2008 property transaction, including any Suspicious
Activity Reports (SARs) related to the transaction that the Treasury Department may retain.
Additionally, in July 2016 the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) expanded its
“Geographic Targeting Orders” program that requires U.S. title insurance companies to identify
the natural persons behind shell companies used to pay all cash for luxury real estate to include
* Russian billionaire makes $37M selling Palm Beach land once owned by Trump; South Florida Business Journal;
uthfiorida/news/2017/10/06/russian-billionaie selling-palm-beach html
Mueller Expands Probe to Trump Business Transactions; Bloomberg, July 20, 2027;
‘www bloomberg.com/news/atticles/2017-07-20/mueller-is-said-to-exgand-probe-to-trump-business-transactions
2 When Donald Trump Needs a Loan, He Chooses Deutsche Bank; Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2026;
www snytimes.com/2008/12/05 ousiness/0Snorris. html
# Fact-checking claims about Oonald Trump's four bankruptcies; PolitiFact, September 21, 2015;
1 /truth-o-meter/statements/2015/sep/21/carly-fiorina/trumps-four-bankruptcies/
"Trump casino group in bankruptcy; CNN, February 17, 2009;
‘money.cnn.com/2008/02/17/news/companies/trump_entertainment/index.htm
+ Deutsche Bank examined Donald Trump's account for Russia links; The Guardian, February 16, 2017;
www. theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/16/deutsche-bank-examined-trump-account-for-ussiadinks
Trump Sees Act of God in Recession; New York Times, December 4, 2008;
wu nytimes.com,/2008/12/05/business/0Snores. htmtransactions in Palm Beach County.'” Title insurance companies report these transactions to
FinCEN utilizing FinCEN Form 8300. I am requesting that you also provide to the Senate
Finance Committee any documents that exist related to the 2016 and 2017 transactions, including
any Form 8300 reports and any related SARs, by March 9", 2018. If you have any questions
please contact Committee staff at (202) 224-4515. Thank you for your attention to this important
matter.
Respectfully
Ron Wyden
Ranking Member
7 FinCEN Expands Reach of Real Estate “Geographic Targeting Orders” Beyond Manhattan and Miami, July 27,
2016; httos://www fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-expands-reach-real-estate-geographic-targeting-
corders-beyond-manhattan