Trump’s Scottish golf course buys under scrutiny
Donald Trump is facing myriad criminal and civil probes into his business in the U.S.. and Reuters has learned he's now facing scrutiny across the Atlantic Ocean.
A human-rights group called Avaaz is now asking questions about Trump’s all-cash purchases of two Scottish golf courses.
Specifically, the group wants to know where Trump got the money, and whether the Scottish parliament is turning a blind eye.
It filed a petition asking a court to review a parliamentary vote against issuing what’s called an “unexplained wealth order.”
The proposal sought details as to the source of the more than $300 million the Trump Organization spent to buy and develop the courses in 2006 and 2014.
Neither golf course has yet to turn a profit, and the all-cash purchases stand out because Trump famously built much of his real estate empire with borrowed money.
Britain introduced unexplained wealth orders to help fight money laundering. The orders don’t trigger criminal proceedings, but if the Trump Organization couldn’t satisfy a court that the money was clean the government could – in theory – seize the properties.
The Scottish Parliament rejected the motion seeking the order in February.
The country’s former justice minister, Humza Yousaf, said such orders should be investigated by law enforcement, not politicians.
If the court reviews that decision and sides with Avaaz, the government may have to take up the question again, or find a new argument to reject the order.
