Deutsche Bank drawn into Russia inquiry

INVESTIGATORS looking into Russian election meddling have requested data on accounts held by Donald Trump and his family with Deutsche Bank, US media has reported.

Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation, is said to have issued a subpoena to Germany’s largest bank several weeks ago.

The bank has lent the president hundreds of millions of dollars over the years for various development projects, according to property filings.

The subpoena was first reported by the German paper Handelsblatt. A spokesman for the lender told Bloomberg: “Deutsche Bank always cooperates with investigating authorities in all countries.” The development is significant as Mr Trump received a number of sizeable loans from the bank as he built his property empire.

However, Jay Sekulow, Mr Trump’s lawyer, last night denied the reports, saying no subpoena had been received.

Mr Trump got a $106million (£79 million) loan in 2011 to buy Doral, the golf resort in Miami, according to Reuters. The bank also lent up to $170 million (£127 million) for the Old Post Office, a Washington property he converted into a hotel, and up to $640 million (£476 million) for the Trump Intl Hotel and Tower, Chicago.

In January, Deutsche Bank agreed to pay $630 million (£469million) in fines for organising $10 billion (£7.5 billion) in sham trades that could have been used to launder money out of Russia.