Trump Media, the company that runs Truth Social, took an $8 million loan from a bank in the Caribbean with sketchy Russian connections that promotes itself as a top payment processor for porn sites in a deal that will give the bank an unknown ownership share of the company, the Washington Post reports.
The money came from two entities through loans set up in late 2021 and early 2022. Two million dollars came from Paxum Bank; the remaining $6 million from ES Family Trust, whose trustee is also a director Paxum Bank. One of the co-owners of Paxum Bank is a relative of an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The 2021 deal was brokered by Patrick Orlando, then the head of Digital World, the “blank check” SPAC company that would have financed, who received nearly a quarter million dollars for the deal, something left off SEC filings about the loan, which came at a time when Trump Media, led by Devin Nunes, was in desperate need of cash. The deal was apparently not cleared with key players, including shareholders, within Trump Media, and the fact that little is know about ES Family Trust and who controls or funds it concerned Trump Media officials. Observers also not the connection to such a shadowy organization might also lead to the SEC to question the proposed merger between Digital World and Trump Media, a deal that’s been under investigation virtually since it was announced.