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Former US President Trump
Photo: MARCO BELLO / REUTERS
Former US President Donald Trump's company has to pay $1.6 million for years of tax fraud.
This was announced by a court in New York.
Trump's real estate company, the Trump Organization, was found guilty last December, and the sentence has not yet been pronounced.
According to the Reuters news agency, the fine that was now imposed was the maximum amount that could be imposed on the company under the law.
The amount is about twice the amount evaded by a group of top Trump Organization employees.
A jury found the company guilty on all 17 counts in December.
The ex-president himself was not charged in the process, but the company's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, was.
He had confessed that for years he and other Trump Organization employees had systematically cheated the tax authorities by not taxing perks like luxury cars and expensive apartments.
Company pleaded not guilty
The Trump Organization pleaded not guilty in the trial.
According to the lawyers, Weisselberg acted alone.
Trump had nevertheless described the trial against his company as a politically motivated “witch hunt”.
The Trump Organization operates hotels, golf courses and other properties around the world.
According to Reuters, it is not to be expected that the fine now imposed will bring the company into financial difficulties.
The sum is lower than the purchase price of an apartment in Trump Tower.
fek/AP/Reuters