Greens pledge to investigate Trump finances
The Scottish Greens would reopen the investigation into Donald Trump’s Scottish finances following allegations of money laundering and confirmed falsification of business records, for which a New York court already found him guilty.
The party has warned that Scotland cannot allow the super-rich and powerful to treat the country as “their private playground.”
This follows years of Scottish Green calls for more transparency, and concern raised over Trump’s Scottish properties, including the New York civil fraud case which found that his assets had been falsely inflated, including his Aberdeen golf course.
The party has long called for an Unexplained Wealth Order into Trump’s Scottish business interests, including his golf resorts in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire.
Unexplained Wealth Orders can be used to investigate politically exposed people where there are serious questions about how property or assets were acquired.
Trump has also been convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
Scottish Greens external affairs spokesperson Patrick Harvie said:
“Donald Trump should never have been allowed to treat Scotland as his personal playground.
“He is a convicted fraudster, a racist and a war criminal whose politics have brought fear, violence and instability across the world. The evidence suggests that he has been ripping Scotland off along the way.
“Yet the Scottish and UK governments have fawned over him because he is rich, powerful and owns a couple of golf courses. That has to end. Nobody should be above the law, especially not the likes of Donald Trump.
“The questions around Trump’s Scottish finances have not gone away. If anything, they have become even more urgent. Courts in New York have already exposed the way his empire inflated asset values, with serious questions about his operations here in Scotland.
“The Scottish Government should be using every power it has to get to the bottom of it, including an Unexplained Wealth Order.
“This would force Trump to reveal where the money he used to purchase assets in Scotland came from, but the Scottish Government has continued to ignore these calls, shielding Trump from any form of scrutiny.
“That is why Scottish Greens would reopen the case and use an Unexplained Wealth Order to force the transparency that Trump has avoided for far too long.”
Patrick added:
“Zack Polanski was right to ask why someone like Donald Trump should be able to enjoy the profits and prestige of Scottish golf courses while enabling genocide, backing illegal wars and trampling over international law.
“His golf courses should not be treated as untouchable trophy assets while he helps unleash horror around the world. That is why we are calling for Trump’s golf courses to be brought into community ownership.
“A vote for the Scottish Greens on 7 May is a vote to hold the super-rich to account and make sure they finally pay what they should have been paying all along.”
