特朗普集团遭刑事调查丨Trump organization under criminal investigation

导读 

据多家美国媒体报道，纽约州总检察长办公室已告知特朗普集团，对该公司的调查不再仅限于民事性质，扩展到刑事领域。特朗普集团尚未对此事作出回应。

A New York state civil investigation into former US President Donald Trump’s business dealings has now expanded to include a criminal investigation, the state’s attorney general confirmed Tuesday. It has focused on whether the Trump Organization engaged in tax and insurance fraud, among other crimes.

"We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature," Fabien Levy,a spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office said in a statement. "We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA We have no additional comment at this time."

A lawyer for the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though in the past, Mr Trump, a Republican, has attacked both investigations as politically motivated fishing expeditions. Mr Vance and Ms James are both Democrats.

▲ The office of Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, has been conducting a civil investigation into Donald J Trump and his family business. Photo/AP

The long-running criminal investigation by the Manhattan district attorney has focused on an array of potential financial crimes at the Trump Organization, including tax and bank-related fraud. In particular, the prosecutors are examining whether Mr Trump's company inflated the value of his properties to obtain favorable loans and lowered the values to reduce taxes.

It is unclear what role Ms James's office will play in that aspect of the investigation. In the collaboration, two assistant attorneys general from Ms James's office are joining the district attorney's team, people with knowledge of the matter said.

But her office will not be conducting its own independent criminal investigation. She is continuing her civil inquiry, which focuses on some of the same strands as the district attorney's sweeping criminal inquiry. Both offices have been investigating some of the same Trump properties, including his Seven Springs Estate in Westchester County.

▲ Former US President Donald Trump leaves the White House in Washington, DC, the United States, on Aug 30, 2019. Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua

As part of its inquiry, Mr Vance's office obtained eight years' worth of Mr Trump's tax returns, among other financial records, but only after Mr Trump aggressively fought the effort, resulting in a long-running legal battle that twice reached the US Supreme Court.

Mr Trump is also facing a criminal investigation in Georgia, where the district attorney in Fulton County is looking into his attempts to reverse the outcome of the presidential election in the state.

编辑：商桢

实习生：石潇涵

来源：New York Times  Global news  Insider

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