But #TrumpMedia almost didn’t make it to the merger after #regulators opened a #securities investigation into it in 2021 & caused the co to burn through cash at an extraordinary rate as it waited…for its IPO.

The situation led TrumpMedia to take emergency #loans, incl’g from an entity called #ESFamilyTrust, which opened an acct w/ #PaxumBank, a small bank registered on the #Caribbean island of #Dominica best known for providing #financial services to the #porn industry.

#law #NationalSecurity

Thru leaked docs, the Guardian has learned that #ESFamilyTrust operated like a #ShellCompany for a #Russian-American businessman named #AntonPostolnikov, who co-owns #PaxumBank & has been a subject of a yrs-long joint #federal #criminal investigation by the #FBI & #DHS into the #TrumpMedia merger.

The trust’s existence has previously been reported…. However, who controlled the acct, how the trust was connected to Paxum, & how the money had been funneled thru it to TrumpMedia was unknown.

#law

The new details are drawn from docs incl’g: #PaxumBank recs showing #Postolnikov having access to the trust’s acct, papers that created the trust showing as its settlor a lawyer in St Petersburg, #Russia, & 3 yrs of its #financial transactions.

The concern surrounding the #loans to #Trump Media is that #ESFamilyTrust may have been used to complete a transaction that Paxum itself could not.

Paxum DOES NOT OFFER LOANS in the #US as it lacks a US #BANKING #LICENSE & is not regulated by the #FDIC.

#Postolnikov appears to have used the trust to #loan #money to help save #TrumpMedia – & #TruthSocial – because his bank itself could not furnish the loan.

Postolnikov, the nephew of #AleksandrSmirnov, an ally of the Russian president, Vladimir #Putin, has not been charged w/a #crime. In response to an email to Postolnikov seeking comment, a lawyer in Dominica representing #PaxumBank threatened legal action for reporting the contents of leaked docs.

#law #NationalSecurity #Trump #BidenHarris

…#Postolnikov has been under increasing scrutiny in the #criminal investigation into the #TrumpMedia merger. Most recently, he has been listed on #SearchWarrant #affidavits alongside several asscs – one of whom was #indicted last month for #MoneyLaundering on top of earlier #InsiderTrading charges.

…#ESFamilyTrust was established on 18 May 2021, creation papers show. Postolnikov’s “user” access to the acct was “verified” on 30 Nov 2021 by a #PaxumBank mgr in Dominica.

#Trump #NationalSecurity

The #ESFamilyTrust was funded for the first time on 2 Dec 2021.

#TrumpMedia then received the #loans:
$2m on 23 Dec 2021, & $6m on 17 Feb 2022.

The loans came in the form of convertible promissory notes, meaning ESFamilyTrust would gain a major stake in #Trump Media because it was offering the #money in exchange for TrumpMedia agreeing to convert the loan principal into “shares of Company Stock”.

#criminal #law #NationalSecurity #SEC #FDIC #MoneyLaundering #FARA

…the investment in #TrumpMedia proved huge: while precise figures can only be known by #Trump Media, ESFamilyTrust’s stake is worth $20m to $40m even after the sharp decline of the share price after a poor earnings report.

The #ESFamilyTrust acct also appears to have benefited #Postolnikov personally. As the #criminal investigation into the merger intensified towards the end of last yr, the trust recorded several transfers to Postolnikov w/the subj “Partial Loan Return”.

#law #NationalSecurity

In total, the doc showed that the trust transferred $4.8m to #Postolnikov’s acct….

The reason for the #ESFamilyTrust’s creation remains unknown. Aside from the #money that went to #TrumpMedia, the trust’s statements show the trust has directly invested money w/only two other companies: $10.8m to Eleven Ventures LLC, a #VC firm, & $1m to Wedbush Securities, a #wealth management firm.

#Trump #criminal #law #NationalSecurity #Russia #PaxumBank #DWAC

The current status of #ESFamilyTrust is also unknown. The trust’s address is listed as a residential home in Hollywood, #Florida. But, acc/to the property website Redfin, the 6-bedroom home appears to have been sold in Dec 2023.

The creation papers also contained something notable: a declaration that, if the original trustee –a #PaxumBank employee named Angel Pacheco– stepped down from the role, his successor would be… #MichaelShvartsman.

#Trump #criminal #law #NationalSecurity #Russia #DWAC