Trump Media Under Federal Scrutiny For ‘Possible Money Laundering,’ New Report

The Guardian on Wednesday reported that former President Donald Trump’s media company, which has been under federal investigation since last year, is now being probed as to “whether it violated money laundering statutes in connection with the acceptance of $8m with suspected Russian ties.”

Political investigations reporter Hugo Lowell broke the story, writing, “Towards the end of last year, prosecutors started 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 the relation of an ally of Putin, the sources said.”

Trump Media, the parent of Trump’s Truth Social platform, came under criminal investigation in June of 2022 during its preparations for a merger “with a blank check company called DWAC that was also the subject of an earlier probe by the SEC,” Lowell explains.

The report notes that the newly reported “expanded nature of the criminal investigation” could further delay the already messy merger plans between Trump Media and DWAC – a deal that would potentially land Truth Social some $1.3 billion in capital and listing on the stock market.

The revelation of a money laundering probe, however, may weaken the company’s ability to raise additional capital, although Lowell notes that “the extent of the exposure for Trump Media and its officers for money laundering remains unclear.”

Read the full story from the Guardian