In a recent report by Democrat members of the US House Oversight Committee, it has been revealed that India ranks fifth among 20 countries that made payments totaling at least $7.8 million to Donald Trump’s businesses during his presidency. The report, titled ‘White House for Sale: How Princes, Prime Ministers, and Premiers Paid Off President Trump,’ sheds light on foreign payments directed to Trump and his family from 2017 to 2021.
PM Narendra Modi’s warm relationship with Donald Trump is highlighted in the report, stating that Trump’s businesses received payments of $282,764 from India, including expenditures at Trump World Tower in New York and Trump International Hotel in Washington DC. These payments, made from 2017 to 2020, form a small part of the overall foreign payments to Trump during his tenure.
The Permanent Mission of India to the UN allocated $264,184 for payments to the Trump World Tower, where India purchased a unit in 2004, serving as the official residence of India’s Permanent Ambassador. The report projects a total of $66,046 spent by India in 2018 on combined common charges for two units at Trump World Tower.
The report emphasizes that India, within the South Asian region, was home to the largest number of Trump-owned business projects outside the United States. It points out the intersection of Trump’s business ventures in India with his direction of US foreign policy, raising concerns about conflicts of interest.
The report suggests that Trump laid the foundation for a warm relationship with PM Modi through his business ventures, quoting PM Modi’s acknowledgment of Trump’s warm remarks during his White House visit. The report also delves into Trump’s visit to India in 2014, promoting a project where BJP leader Mangal Prabhat Lodha, currently a Maharashtra cabinet minister, was a partner.
The report concludes that Trump’s foreign business entanglements in India created conflicts of interest, raising questions about the intersection of business and diplomacy during his presidency.
