Donald Trump Jr. Okayed Loans From Russian Money Launderers

A pair of sketchy loans to Trump Media now under investigation for possible Russian money laundering were personally approved by Donald Trump Jr.

Photo Insert: Federal prosecutors in New York are scrutinizing two loans totaling $8 million from two Kremlin-linked entities which company officials feared were cash from Putin oligarchs.

Federal prosecutors in New York are scrutinizing two loans totaling $8 million from two Kremlin-linked entities which company officials feared were cash from Putin oligarchs, The Guardian reported.

“Just want to keep you in the loop – no guaranty that these will get signed and funded, but we remain hopeful,” wrote John Haley, outside counsel for Trump Media, in a Dec. 24, 2021, email reviewed by the newspaper.

“Thanks john much appreciated. d,” Trump Jr. replied. Trump Jr. had joined the board of the company along with the former president's ally Kash Patel and former Rep. Devin Nunes, who served as the tech company's chief executive.

Trump Media co-founder Will Wilkerson first alerted federal prosecutors on Oct. 23, 2022, to the loans, which came from Paxum Bank and ES Family Trust, both of which were controlled by an individual named Anton Postolnikov, who appears to be a relation of Vladimir Putin ally Aleksandr Smirnov, Travis Gettys also reported for Raw Story.

Wilkerson and Trump Media’s then-chief financial officer Phillip Juhan considered returning the money in spring 2022 due to their obscure origins but the company had only $12 million cash at hand at the time as it awaited approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a merger with blank-check company Digital World.

The CEO of Digital World, Patrick Orlando, sourced the loan from Paxum Bank, which is known for providing services to the adult entertainment industry, in December 2021, and two months later an unexpected second $6 million payment showed up in Trump Media’s account from ES Family Trust.

Orlando, as an SEC-licensed broker-dealer, is obligated to comply with the SEC's “Know Your Customer” requirements to guard against money laundering. The former president was chairman of Trump Media at the time, but it's not clear whether he was aware of the origins of the loans, Wilkerson said.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic