United States of America. Press: Trump's company was rescued by a Russian-American businessman under criminal investigation

The issue of funding of Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) by entities with ties to Russia is the subject of an investigation by the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security.

TMTG, which recently went public, weathered a difficult period in 2021 and 2022 thanks to emergency loans provided to it by an entity called ES Family Trust, which in turn obtained a loan from Paxum Bank, a small financial institution based on the Caribbean island. Dominica is known to serve the pornography industry – a Guardian newspaper investigation revealed.

According to the British daily newspaper, “Trump Media obtained loans from ES Family Trust: $2 million on December 23, 2021 and $6 million on February 17, 2022.”

According to documents obtained by the British daily newspaper, ES Family Trust is a shell company used by Anton Postolnikov, co-owner of Paxum Bank. Paxum Bank does not provide loans in the USA because it does not have a US banking license and is not regulated by local institutions.

Postolnikov is the nephew of Alexander Smirnov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The use of ES Family Trust as an intermediary allowed the transfer of funds to Trump's company because Paxum Bank cannot grant loans in the US market and is not licensed by local regulators. Meanwhile, Baxum Bank documents indicate that the bank's trustee is a lawyer from St. Petersburg, whose identity has not been revealed.

In part, TMTG's financing problem stemmed from the fact that after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, traditional banks did not want to give multi-million-dollar loans to the company, and at the same time market regulators launched an investigation into the planned merger. From TMTG and Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the so-called blank check company, which, thanks to this merger, was to offer TMTG to the stock exchange. The investigation delayed the merger and the former president's company needed a major cash infusion.

ES Family Trust was established in December 2021 while the investigation into the proposed merger was already underway. It is not yet possible to verify how much money Trump's company has received through this fund, but The Guardian has determined that ES Family Trust's shares in TMTG are worth between $20 million and $40 million.

The Paxum Bank – ES Family Trust – TMTG transaction financially benefited Postolnikov himself, who is under investigation on suspicion of money laundering, using confidential information in stock exchange crimes, corruption and illegal foreign transactions.

The official address of the ES Family Trust is listed as a house in Florida, which was officially sold in December 2023. Therefore, it appears that this entity was created to finance the TMTG account – says the newspaper.

The FBI investigation showed that Paxum Bank, and most likely Postolnikov himself, offered Trump “bridge financing” and simultaneously declared its willingness to provide similar services to “citizens of Russia and Ukraine.”

The Guardian notes that it is not clear whether federal prosecutors investigating TMTG are analyzing the company's financing by Paxum Bank and ES Family Trust, but it is clear that the investigation has expanded in recent months.

The American Newsweek wrote at the end of last January that Postolnikov – a relative of former Russian Deputy Minister of Justice Alexander Smirnov – obtained approximately 23 million Polish zlotys thanks to stock market crimes related to the TMTG company, and despite the indictment of three of his accomplices, No charges were brought against him himself during this period.

TMTG recently debuted on the NASDAQ, and at the end of March its price was up more than 30%. The Wall Street Journal then estimated that these increases increased the value of Trump's stock to more than $5 billion.