Allen Weisselberg Removed As Director Of Trump Property After Charges

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Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg has been terminated from his position as a director at a Trump golf course in Scotland after facing criminal charges from authorities in Manhattan. Weisselberg — and the Trump company itself — are formally accused of evading taxes on large amounts of income. That income was in the form of high-dollar perks like Mercedes cars, apartment space, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by the Trump company on private school tuition for at least one of Allen’s grandchildren. Allen and the company have pleaded not guilty, suggesting that — for now — a trial remains on the horizon.

The Trump company filed a notice with U.K. authorities on Thursday revealing the end of Allen’s time as a director at the Scottish golf course in question. The particular course where Allen had been involved is in Aberdeenshire and is known as Trump International Golf Links. Now, just Donald Trump Jr. remains as what’s known in British legal parlance as a “person with significant control,” while both he and Eric Trump serve as directors at the company overseeing the course. Donald Trump had been a director as well, but he stepped aside when assuming the presidency, although he never financially disconnected himself from his business.

Trump has a second golf course in Scotland, which is located in Turnberry. Neither of the Trump company’s Scottish courses have been financially successful. Reuters reported back in late May that neither course had ever produced a profit for the Trump Organization, although Trump has poured over $300 million in cash into buying and then developing the courses. Some in Scotland have sought a government review of Trump’s purchases of the courses. Specifically, interests including some members of the Scottish parliament along with the human rights group Avaaz have advocated for what’s known as an unexplained wealth order, which would require the Trump company to disclose to authorities how it financed the properties. The goal of unexplained wealth orders is to proactively confront potential money laundering.

Meanwhile, Trump has predictably lashed out against the criminal charges that his company is facing. At a recent rally, he mocked the idea that evading taxes on high-dollar perks to company executives constituted a criminal act — but tax liabilities on so-called fringe benefits aren’t exactly a secret!