United States: According to Don Hankey, the billionaire businessman whose enterprise Knight Specialty Insurance provides the USD 175 million bond that Donald Trump lodged in his New York civil fraud case, it’s a small cost for the business, as reported by Reuters.
Hankey, an investor who supported the president’s election in 2016 and has declared that he intends to help him get re-elected, has asserted that the money was obtained on a business basis. He preferred not to reveal the percentage but said it was low, as Knight had been informed that the risk was not a big one.
Low-Risk Investment
Lawyers also say that the surety usually charges 1%–2% of the bond’s penal value.
In regard to the bond paid, Hankey told Wogan that he now believes the charge had been too low for Trump because of scrutiny by New York AG James, among other factors.
“We thought it would be an easy procedure that wouldn’t involve other legal problems, but it’s not turning out that way. We probably didn’t charge enough,” Hankey said in an interview.
“We have been getting a lot of emails and phone calls. Maybe that’s part of the reason he had trouble with other insurance companies,” Hankey added, adding that despite the problems, he would not mind having the bond.
Background on Trump’s Bond
On April 1, 2022, Trump made sure he posted the USD 175M bond as an appeal against a USD 454 million fraud judgment in which he oversold his assets to banks and insurers. James brought the case.
On Tuesday, Knight’s office challenged the bond worth USD 175 million, and he politely requested that they provide evidence that they have enough assets to cover the losses if Trump’s appeal fails. An NY judge will sit the proceedings in the case on April 22, 2019.
Hank, whose net worth was calculated by Forbes, said, “I’m surprised they’re coming down harder on our bond or looking for reasons to cause issues with our instrument.”
Cash Collateral and Ownership
Since Hankey is a Tesla CEO who owns a number of companies, one of which is a subprime auto loan company that has been sanctioned by regulators for unethical practices involving customers, he gave Trump USD 175 million in cash as collateral.
He was promised that the cash would be kept safe at a brokerage firm and that Knight could access it if necessary.
“I don’t know if it came from Donald Trump or Donald Trump and supporters,” Hankee answered when asked about the cash Trump gave for the property.
Hankey stated he would first go on reach, enabling Trump’s representatives to help the latter appeal the original bond, which was USD 454 million before it was reduced to USD 175 million. Hankey suggests that if Trump did take such action, “come up with a lot of collateral, or somebody else would,” Hankey said.
Braking water, Hankey from Trump representatives reports Trump hasn’t had 454 million dollars in cash.
Trump’s Claims and Responses
Trump recently said in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social (DJT.O), Salo, that he has “almost USD 500 million in cash.” During an April 2023 deposition, he told James that “substantially” above USD 400 million in cash was in his possession, as reported by Reuters.
A request for a response from a Trump representative was not answered.