Trump stands to gain billions… from the merger between TrumpMedia & Tech & the blank-check co [#SPAC] #DWAC, which took the parent company of #TruthSocial public.
But #TrumpMedia almost didn’t make it to the merger after #regulators opened a #securities investigation into it in 2021 & caused the co to burn through cash at an extraordinary rate as it waited…for its IPO.
The situation led TrumpMedia to take emergency #loans, incl’g from an entity called #ESFamilyTrust, which opened an acct w/ #PaxumBank, a small bank registered on the #Caribbean island of #Dominica best known for providing #financial services to the #porn industry.
The trust’s existence has previously been reported…. However, who controlled the acct, how the trust was connected to Paxum, & how the money had been funneled thru it to TrumpMedia was unknown.
The new details are drawn from docs incl’g: #PaxumBank recs showing #Postolnikov having access to the trust’s acct, papers that created the trust showing as its settlor a lawyer in St Petersburg, #Russia, & 3 yrs of its #financial transactions.
The concern surrounding the #loans to #Trump Media is that #ESFamilyTrust may have been used to complete a transaction that Paxum itself could not.
Paxum DOES NOT OFFER LOANS in the #US as it lacks a US #BANKING#LICENSE & is not regulated by the #FDIC.
…#ESFamilyTrust was established on 18 May 2021, creation papers show. Postolnikov’s “user” access to the acct was “verified” on 30 Nov 2021 by a #PaxumBank mgr in Dominica.
The #ESFamilyTrust was funded for the first time on 2 Dec 2021.
#TrumpMedia then received the #loans:
$2m on 23 Dec 2021, & $6m on 17 Feb 2022.
The loans came in the form of convertible promissory notes, meaning ESFamilyTrust would gain a major stake in #Trump Media because it was offering the #money in exchange for TrumpMedia agreeing to convert the loan principal into “shares of Company Stock”.
…the investment in #TrumpMedia proved huge: while precise figures can only be known by #Trump Media, ESFamilyTrust’s stake is worth $20m to $40m even after the sharp decline of the share price after a poor earnings report.
The #ESFamilyTrust acct also appears to have benefited #Postolnikov personally. As the #criminal investigation into the merger intensified towards the end of last yr, the trust recorded several transfers to Postolnikov w/the subj “Partial Loan Return”.
In total, the doc showed that the trust transferred $4.8m to #Postolnikov’s acct….
The reason for the #ESFamilyTrust’s creation remains unknown. Aside from the #money that went to #TrumpMedia, the trust’s statements show the trust has directly invested money w/only two other companies: $10.8m to Eleven Ventures LLC, a #VC firm, & $1m to Wedbush Securities, a #wealth management firm.
The current status of #ESFamilyTrust is also unknown. The trust’s address is listed as a residential home in Hollywood, #Florida. But, acc/to the property website Redfin, the 6-bedroom home appears to have been sold in Dec 2023.
The creation papers also contained something notable: a declaration that, if the original trustee –a #PaxumBank employee named Angel Pacheco– stepped down from the role, his successor would be… #MichaelShvartsman.
Trump Media saved in 2022 by Russian-American under criminal investigation
Last year The Guardian reported on $8 million loans made in 2022 to Trump Media that went through Paxum Bank from ES Family Trust run by Anton Postolnikov, nephew of Putin ally Aleksandr Smirnov
Today's story adds new info, including that loans had promissory notes that would put ES Family Trust stake in Trump Media at $20-$40mil