Claudia Sassou-Nguesso, the daughter of Republic of Congo’s President, paid for a luxury apartment at the Trump International Hotel & Tower (Trump International) in New York City with funds that appear to have been stolen from the Congolese treasury, Global Witness reveals today in a new investigation. Her front man was José Veiga, a controversial businessperson who is the target of a Portuguese probe into corruption and money laundering in Congo...Claudia Sassou-Nguesso and Veiga together set up a murky scheme to purchase the apartment in Trump’s flagship hotel and tower in New York using offshore accounts, secrecy jurisdictions, anonymous companies and enabling lawyers...

“Our latest investigation provides further evidence that some of the world’s most notorious politicians and businesspeople choose to stash their cash in Trump property”, said Mariana Abreu, Campaigner at Global Witness. “The Trump Organization must face serious questions as to the quality of its procedures for background checks on the purchaser of this apartment. It should explain why it proceeded with this transaction despite the apparent risks of money laundering and corruption associated with it.”...

“Claudia Sassou-Nguesso and José Veiga used many of the tools of the global financial system to enable them to siphon, hide and potentially launder millions of dollars of apparently public funds through a luxury Trump property. Such money should be spent in the best interests of Congolese citizens,” said Abreu. “This highlights the urgent need to address the ways in which opaque companies can move funds around the world at ease, facing no tough questions on provenance or legitimacy despite multiple corruption warning signs.”...

The consequences of transactions like these can be devastating, often for people battling poverty and corrupt governments in places like Congo, where leaders give public contracts to the least scrupulous investors and the most opportunistic criminals. Global Witness does not allege that either K&L Gates or the Trump Organization broke any laws in their roles in the acquisition of apartment 32G. There are no legal requirements in the U.S. for law firms or real estate actors to do due diligence on their clients, so the firm and Trump Organization may argue they were entitled to take on this business...Global Witness wrote to Trump Organization, Claudia Sassou-Nguesso, José Veiga’s lawyer, K&L Gates, and the Congolese government spokesperson asking for comment on the details and allegations laid out in this article. No substantive responses were received by any of these parties, but the Trump Organization has consistently refuted allegations of wrongdoing around property ventures and deals.