Richest Ukrainians Close Ranks As Putin Unleashes War

Zach Everson

Staff Writer

FEBRUARY 24, 2022

Welcome to the latest issue of Checks & Imbalances.

Our colleagues at Forbes Ukraine are maintaining an English-language overview of Russia’s war on their country. They are updating it regularly, so please bookmark the article and check back often. You also can follow Forbes Ukraine staffers on Twitter, where many of their tweets also are in English.

Checks & Imbalances publishes on Mondays and Thursdays. Please support this work, if you can, by subscribing to Forbes. Any tips or suggestions? Email me at zeverson@forbes.com. Thanks!

Richest Ukrainians With Billions To Lose Close Ranks As Putin Unleashes War

"Amid reports of attacks against Ukrainian cities and Russian troops entering the country, Ukraine’s billionaires are putting aside their differences and lending their support to the government in Kyiv," reports Giacomo Tognini for Forbes:

Ukraine’s half-dozen or so billionaires have as much and likely more to lose from armed conflict. According to Forbes Ukraine, the value of any assets held in the separatist-held regions of Donetsk and Luhansk had likely tumbled by as much as 40% in the days leading up to the attack, while holdings elsewhere in the country had lost at least 20%. By Thursday, the situation was much more dire.

While some Ukrainian billionaires initially fled the country, they returned in recent days to show their support. “They realized that Putin presents a clear threat to all of Ukraine, and their assets as well,” said Taras Berezovets, a Ukrainian political analyst and TV host. “He doesn’t care about Ukrainian oligarchs or to what extent they have been loyal to him. Everybody understands that any Ukrainian now, including tycoons, are enemies of Putin's regime.”

Read more: Richest Ukrainians With Billions To Lose Close Ranks As Putin Unleashes War

Accountants Who Walked Away From Trump’s Financial Statements Also Helped The Government Determine His D.C. Hotel’s Rent

To set the Trump Organization’s rent of the Old Post Office, the U.S. government has been relying on financial statements audited by Mazars, a firm that has since disavowed other work it provided Donald Trump. The government did not independently audit at least some of the information Mazars provided.

The documents Mazars walked away from were not involved in determining the hotel’s lease payments, and Mazars wrote “we have not concluded that the various financial statements, as a whole, contain material discrepancies.” Nevertheless, the U.S. government relied on information from the accounting firm that has since walked away from other financial statements it provided for that same client.

In August 2013, after a competitive bidding process, the Trump Organization signed a 60-year lease with the U.S. government to redevelop Washington, D.C.’s Old Post Office into a luxury hotel. The terms called for the Trump Organization to provide the General Services Administration with annual “financial statements audited by an independent certified public accountant.” For that requirement, the Trumps hired Mazars.

Those reports don’t just disclose to the government how its tenant is fairing, but they also reveal if the Trumps need to fork over more money to the taxpayers: in addition to monthly rent payments of $250,000, the lease commits the Trumps to paying 3% of the gross-revenues if a certain threshold is met.

Three years after the hotel’s grand opening, Dan Mathews, a Trump-appointee at GSA, told a House committee that the Trump Organization had only paid its base rent. At the same hearing, Mathews also testified that his agency was not independently auditing the hotel’s financial statements. Meaning, when it came to determining if Trump owed the taxpayers more money, the government was just taking Trump and Mazars at their word.

Which brings us to two weeks ago, when Mazars walked away from the statements of financial condition it prepared for Trump in 2011 through 2021. Within days, the House Oversight Committee asked GSA to consider terminating hotel’s lease, as the financial statements Trump submitted during the procurement process “contain potential misrepresentations about former President Trump’s assets that are similar to those identified by state investigators.” For his part, Trump is primed to sell the lease and enjoy a large windfall.

Mazar’s retraction concerns the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has oversight of GSA’s leasing program. “The news from Mazars suggesting that official filings from the Trump Organization, which was awarded a large outlease by GSA, are inaccurate is disturbing,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said in a statement. “I’ve previously introduced legislation to require GSA to audit outleases of this size, but clearly more needs to be done to prevent issues like this in the future.”

In a statement, Mazars declined to comment, citing obligations to clients’ confidentiality. The Trump Organization, GSA, and the Trump appointee who led that agency during his administration, Emily Murphy, did not respond to inquiries.

Donald Trump speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Trump International Hotel Washington, D.C. at the Old Post Office in July 2014. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES

Fed Restricts Central Bank Officials’ Stock And Crypto Trades After High-Profile Resignations

"The Federal Reserve on Friday adopted rules governing investments made by central bank officials, banning them from purchasing individual securities," reports Jonathan Ponciano for Forbes.

Fed policymakers and senior staff, including board members, will be barred from purchasing individual securities, including stocks, cryptocurrencies and bonds, holding investments in agency securities—like Treasurys—and entering into derivatives contracts.

Read more: Fed Restricts Central Bank Officials’ Stock And Crypto Trades After High-Profile Resignations

Jerome Powell, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during a Senate Banking confirmation hearing on Tuesday, January 11. 2022 BLOOMBERG FINANCE LP

Trump SPAC Investor Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Is Plugging Truth Social

On social media this week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has been praising a company in which she’s invested.

Former President Donald Trump announced plans on Oct. 20 to both launch a social-media company and take it public via a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).

Two days later, Greene bought more than $15,000 worth of DWAC’s stock, according to a disclosure she filed with the House clerk’s office.

Now, Greene is promoting Trump’s platform, Truth Social, which launched on February 20, President’s Day, to her 1.9 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, Gettr and Telegram. “Join me on TRUTH Social!” reads the post, which has a link to what is ostensibly her profile on that site (the page was down when Forbes checked). Greene also plugged Truth Social during a Facebook Live stream on Monday, saying, “I’m up on Truth Social. Have you guys gotten on there yet?” That video has been viewed 54,000 times.

The Twitter account @congresstrading first made the connection between Greene’s investment and social-media posts.

“She’s promoting her account on a social-media platform,” said Nick Dyer, Greene’s communications director. “That’s how social media works.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has been promoting Truth Social on her social-media profiles. Greene has invested in the SPAC that's set to merge with Truth Social's parent company. INSTAGRAM/MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE

Billionaire Larry Ellison Makes His Largest Political Donation On Record

"Larry Ellison, the billionaire cofounder and chairman of software giant Oracle, gave $15 million in January to a super-PAC that is supporting South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott," reports Michela Tindera for Forbes:

Ellison also gave $5 million to the same super-PAC, called Opportunity Matters Fund, in June last year, bringing his total spending on this committee up to $20 million during this election cycle. Ellison has made large contributions to other Republican senators in recent years, though nothing like his most recent contribution. Ahead of the 2020 elections, he gave $1 million to a super-PAC supporting Susan Collins (R-Maine), and $250,000 to a super-PAC supporting Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

Read more: Billionaire Larry Ellison Makes His Largest Political Donation On Record

Oracle chairman of the board and chief technology officer Larry Ellison delivers a keynote address during the 2019 Oracle OpenWorld on September 16, 2019 in San Francisco, California. PHOTO BY JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES

Continuing Irresolutions

Updates on Checks & Imbalances’ previous reporting

“J Street’s affiliated political action committee will no longer endorse Marie Newman, an Illinois Democratic congresswoman at the center of an ethics investigation into pro-Palestinian bribery allegations,” reported The Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Tuesday. Meanwhile, “one of Rep. Marie Newman’s staffers promoted the campaign of a rival before securing her job with the congresswoman, sources say, and had another bizarre employment contract,” reported The Daily Beast.

Last month, the House Ethics Office disclosed it had “substantial reason to believe” Newman "may have promised federal employment to a primary opponent for the purpose of procuring political support.”

Trump’s Truth Social App Gets 170,000 Downloads In First Day

"Even amid registration glitches and a lengthy waiting list, President Trump’s new Truth Social app received 170,000 downloads in its first day available," reported Abram Brown for Forbes:

The downloads Trump’s app received far outstrip what competing apps see on an average day. TMTG joins a crowded field of other companies hoping to do the same thing: Give a new home to conservatives and others angry at existing social networks like Twitter and Facebook. For perspective, Parler has averaged only about 1,500 downloads per day on Apple over the last month, while Rumble (10,600) and Gettr (12,050) have done slightly better, according to AppTopia data.

Read more: Trump’s Truth Social App Gets 170,000 Downloads In First Day

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gives a double thumbs-up to the crowd during the evening session on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. GETTY IMAGES

Tracking Trump

"At Mar-a-Lago event, Trump says 'Trump said Putin is smart. He's taken over a country for $2 worth of sanctions. I'd say that's pretty smart.'" (Twitter/Danny) Select the link to watch the video.

TWITTER/DABS346

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was eager to tell his followers that he'd visited Mar-a-Lago, posting two photos from the president's private club on both Instagram and Twitter. He was joined by Herschel Walker, a candidate for Senate in Georgia.

INSTAGRAM/TED CRUZ

Former Secretary of the Interior and current candidate for congress Ryan Zinke addressed guests at his old boss's club-cum-residence. Zinke was there Wednesday night for a candidates forum and fundraiser hosted by Trump's super PAC, Make America Great Again, Again!.

INSTAGRAM/RYAN ZINKE

Harriet Hageman, the Trump-endorsed challenger to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.), joined Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a dedicated supporter of Trump's businesses, on stage at Mar-a-Lago during Make America Great Again, Again's! candidates forum and fundraiser.

INSTAGRAM/RYAN ZINKE

Democrat-turned-Republican Vernon Jones, a former state rep who recently dropped out of the Georgia governor's race at Trump's suggestion to instead run for congress, returned to Mar-a-Lago.

INSTAGRAM/ANGIE WONG

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) moderated a candidates forum that included Adam Laxalt, a former attorney general of Nevada who's now running for one of its senate seats.