Financial fraud lawsuit: Donald Trump at risk of asset seizure

On March 18, lawyers for former US President Donald Trump admitted that he did not have enough cash to appeal a lawsuit related to financial fraud in New York.

Last month, federal judge Arthur Engoron in New York ordered Mr. Trump to pay a $354.9 million fine for allegedly illegally inflating and manipulating the value of his assets to obtain favorable bank loans and insurance terms.

With interest, Mr. Trump must pay a total fine of $464 million.

Under the terms of the order, Mr. Trump must pay the entire fine in cash or post a surety bond to prevent authorities from seizing part of the Trump Organization's assets while the verdict is appealed.

The deadline for implementation is 30 days from the time Judge Engoron issued the official ruling on February 23.

Trump's lawyers revealed that so far, the former President, his two sons and other Trump Organization executives have approached 30 underwriters, through four separate brokers, but without success.

Mr Trump’s lawyers have asked the New York appeals court to delay the Engoron ruling, citing the size of the fine. They are also asking the court to allow Mr Trump to post a $100 million bond while he appeals.

In addition to the civil lawsuits, Mr. Trump is currently facing criminal charges in four other cases.

However, on March 12, he officially won enough votes from Republican delegates to become the party's candidate in the race to the White House next November.