The investigation into hush money for alleged Trump affairs had begun.
Now the first criminal charge against the corporate empire of the ex-US president is on the table.
New York - After years of investigation, the New York prosecutor is bringing criminal charges against the Trump organization's business practices for the first time.
In the indictment before a New York court, the company and its CFO Allen Weisselberg are accused of systematically evading taxes for at least 15 years.
In the case of Weisselberg, this involves taxes on services worth more than $ 1.7 million.
The 73-year-old and the Trump organization pleaded "not guilty".
Ex-US President Donald Trump is not personally charged.
Income disguised
"The purpose of the system was to compensate Weisselberg and other executives of the Trump organization in a way that was" not on the books, "" the indictment said.
Accordingly, the beneficiaries received significant parts of their income in an indirect and disguised manner, which was not reported to the tax authorities.
The non-taxed services included payments for apartments, cars or the schooling of relatives.
The total of 15 charges include aggravated theft and tax fraud.
The prosecution hopes to get Weisselberg to cooperate and testify against Trump in order to improve his own prospects in the case.
In addition to family members, Weisselberg is a key figure in the company.
Trump attorneys: "politically motivated" indictment
Trump organization lawyers condemned the charges as "politically motivated".
The former president also spoke up with a cryptic statement: "Do people see what the prosecutors of the radical left are trying to do to 75 million voters and patriots?" official figures 74.2 million - and seemed to indicate that he, too, considers the prosecution to be politically motivated.
Meanwhile, it is eagerly awaited whether the trial is only the first surcharge for further charges, possibly for members of Trump's family or even the former head of government himself. New York Attorney General Letitia James emphasized that it is an "ongoing criminal investigation" : "This investigation will continue and we will follow the facts and the law wherever they lead."
Years of investigation
The expected indictment against the Trump organization is the result of more than two years of investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
That investigation began with investigations into former Trump attorney Michael Cohen for hiding money payments to women who allegedly had affairs with Trump.
Most recently they had led to a dispute in the Supreme Court over the release of Trump's tax documents.
Donald Trump was once known as a real estate tycoon as the head of the Trump organization, which consists of many smaller companies.
He is considered to be very closely interwoven with his corporate empire.
According to its own statements, the group has tens of thousands of employees in several high-rise buildings, hotels or on golf courses.
dpa
