Investigate Trump’s Scottish Investments

There are serious questions around the legality of Donald Trump’s investments in Scotland, made all the more urgent following the recent publication of his tax records in the US. Now the election is over it’s time for answers. Scotland must have a zero tolerance approach to financial crime, regardless of the suspect. Please back our call and ask the First Minister to seek an Unexplained Wealth Order investigation into his Scottish investments. 

Donald Trump’s finances are being investigated in the US for fraud [1] and just before the election his tax records were finally published, revealing that he paid just $750 in federal income tax in 2016 [2]. They also underlined the urgency for an investigation into Trump’s investments in Scotland and exactly how he paid for them [3]. The American Democracy Legal Fund has specifically requested that the FBI “open an investigation into apparent inconsistencies, misstatements, and lies in President Trump’s annual financial disclosure filings regarding loans to, and the profit margins of, his golf courses in the U.K. and Ireland”, and have documented their concerns in detail in a letter to the Bureau [4]. 

Yet here in Scotland, after the Scottish Government made the disastrous decision to woo Trump to invest here in the first place, these concerns are being ignored. The Scottish Greens have been calling for an investigation into Donald Trump’s investments in Scotland since February [5] . We’ve asked repeatedly that the Scottish Government uses its power to seek an Unexplained Wealth Order that would force Trump to reveal where the money he used to buy Turnberry came from, but the Scottish Government has so far ignored these calls. Unexplained Wealth Orders are an investigative tool designed for situations like these. They allow investigations into “politically exposed persons” like Trump suspected of involvement in serious crime. Campaign Group Avaaz have set out in full why such an Order should be used to investigate Trump in Scotland [6].

Trump regards Turnberry as a prized possession in his global business empire and he is pushing to expand his foothold here in Scotland, with plans that include residential developments and retirement communities. We cannot let Scotland’s good name be tarnished by the toxic Trump brand. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the red flags that surround his business activities in Scotland, sending a signal to not just Trump himself but to those who may be lured by our relaxed approach towards investigating possible financial crimes. Please take action now and email the First Minister to ask her to use her powers to ensure Trump’s investments in Scotland are fully investigated.