Federal investigators examined Trump Media for possible money laundering, sources say

Federal prosecutors in New York are examining whether Trump Media violated money laundering statutes.

They are examining two loans totaling $8m wired to Trump Media, through the Caribbean, from two obscure entities that both appear to be controlled in part by an ally of Vladimir Putin.

The extent of the exposure for Trump Media and its officers for money laundering remains unclear.

The optics of borrowing money from unsavory sources could cloud Trump’s image as he seeks to recapture the White House in 2024.

Trump was chairman of Trump Media at the time, though it was unclear whether he was aware of the opaque nature of the two loans.

Federal prosecutors’ interest in the two payments appear to have started when Wilkerson alerted the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York to the payments on 23 October 2022.