Deutsche Bank confirms to a US federal appeals court that it has some of Donald Trump’s tax returns.
In a letter to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the German bank wrote that it “has in its possession tax returns (in either draft or as-filed form)”.
House committees have issued subpoenas for the records of Trump, his family, and his businesses. In May, a judge denied the lawsuit of Trump, the Trump Organization, and his children Donald Jr., Eric, and Ivanka to block compliance. Last Friday, the three-judge appeals court panel heard arguments from Trump’s lawyers and attorneys for the House Financial Services Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.
“Current and former bank officials” confirmed that Deutsche Bank has portions of Trump’s personal and corporate tax returns for multiple years, as part of the reams of financial data collected in 20 years of dealing with the businessman.
For most years, Deutsche Bank has only the first several pages of the tax returns, according to the sources. However, the bank also has far more detailed financial data such balance sheets, financial statements, and the organization of Trump’s web of businesses.
After a series of Trump’s bankruptcies and failed business and property ventures, Deutsche Bank was the only major financial institution that would loan to him, ultimately providing about $350 million from 2011 to 2016.
Some units of the bank opposed the transactions, noting that Trump had defaulted on previous debts to the lender.
Anti-money laundering specialists recommended in 2016 and 2017 that multiple transactions involving entities controlled by Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, be reported to a federal financial-crimes watchdog. But bank executives blocked any notification.
Capital One, which has also been asked for records, wrote on Tuesday that it “does not possess any tax returns responsive to the…subpoena”.
Trump refused during the 2016 campaign to release any returns, and has resisted the demands as President, despite multiple claims of conflict of interest, suspect transactions — some involving foreign entities — and even fraud.
The House Financial Services Committee, examining money laundering in real estate, is looking at Trump’s businesses to establish if he helped Russians and other foreign buyers through sales of his properties. The House committees’ lawyer, Douglas Letter, said the Intelligence Committee is investigating if Trump’s financial dealings made him subject to foreign influence.
