Trump Avoids Asset Seizure Threat... US Court Significantly Reduces Bond Amount

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s bond required by the court to continue the civil trial over allegations of 'real estate fraud loans' has been significantly reduced. This is seen as a way for Trump to avoid the worst-case scenario of having his assets seized.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 25th (local time), the New York State Appellate Division reduced Trump’s bond from $454 million (approximately 610 billion KRW) to $175 million (approximately 230 billion KRW), a cut of more than 60%, according to reports by The New York Times (NYT) and others.

There is a condition that the amount must be paid within just 10 days. Citing sources familiar with Trump’s financial situation, the NYT evaluated that Trump would be able to pay the amount within 10 days and that the court has effectively given him a lifeline.

Previously, the New York Manhattan District Court ruled last month in the civil trial that Trump had obtained fraudulent loans by inflating asset values and ordered him to pay a fine of $454 million including interest.

Trump immediately appealed, but the obstacle was that to continue the appeal, he had to post the astronomical full amount of the fine as a bond by that day. Trump argued that the bond amount was too large to realistically pay and requested the court to either suspend the execution of the fine or reduce the bond to around $100 million.

According to the ruling on this day, Trump will not have to pay the full amount of the first trial’s judgment while the appeal is ongoing, significantly reducing his financial burden. Otherwise, if he had failed to post the bond by this day, the New York State prosecutors were scheduled to seize his assets including bank accounts, buildings, golf courses, and private jets to enforce the fine.

After the court’s decision, Trump stated on his social media, "I will comply with the appellate court’s decision and will post a bond or equivalent securities or cash."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.