Trump-branded properties ‘face heightened risk’
His businesses around the world may be a target
Businesses around the world bearing the name of US president Donald Trump face an increased risk now that he is in the White House, security experts warn.
That is especially as several are in areas previously targeted by violence. Because Mr Trump is a brand overseas, criminals or militants could target buildings bearing his name. “They may kidnap a Trump worker and not want to negotiate”, aiming for publicity instead, said political scientist Colin Clarke of the Rand Corporation.
Predicting possible attacks already keeps police, intelligence agencies and security experts awake at night on alert around the world – and, by its very nature, it remains speculative.
US brands have been targeted in overseas violence before, but they never belonged to a president. Mr Trump’s rise to the Oval Office presents a unique challenge given his international business interests.
Asked about security issues, the Trump Organisation said it had “extensive protocols in place at our Trump-owned and managed properties” in the United States and abroad.
“Our team works very closely with local law enforcement,” it said. “We are also working in tandem with the local developers at Trump-branded properties worldwide to ensure that all residents, guests and associates remain safe and secure.” The organisation did not elaborate. Although Mr Trump said he would put his business assets in a trust and give management control to his adult sons and a Trump Organisation executive, it is still his name on projects.
That has not worried South Korean Kim Ok-kyu, who lives in a Trump-branded tower in Seoul. She said security at her building was quite good, with many guards and strict entry restrictions on outsiders.
“Terror? I don’t think about it. I just hope my home prices go up,” she said.
But other properties are in areas where violence have broken out, such as Trump Towers Istanbul, in the Turkish city that has been hit hard by a series of ISIL bomb and gun attacks.
Flags and banners around the site bear the Trump name, while private security guards operate X-ray machines and metal detectors at its entrances, a standard practice in the city.
In Bali, where bombs planted by the extremist Jemaah Islamiyah group killed 202 people in 2002, Mr Trump’s organisation has licensed his name to a planned luxury resort.
Bali police spokesman Hengky Widjaja said no one had requested extra security for the property.
A Trump-branded residential tower is under construction in Mumbai, which was hit by a terror attack in 2008 that killed 166 people. The attack was blamed on the Pakistani militant group Lashkar- e- Taiba. Mumbai police said they had no knowledge of any additional security around the tower.
Christopher Hagon, managing partner of The Incident Management Group, said all Trump properties should be looked at by external security consultants. He acknowledged, however, that commercial properties could not be surrounded by concrete blast walls and controlled like a US embassy.
“There is no complete answer to these things unless you’ve got a military encampment,” he said. “You’ve got to make compromises, but hope those compromises won’t weaken the overall approach.”