Donald Trump cannot find an insurance company to underwrite a bond that would allow him to appeal his $454 million judgment in a New York civil fraud case, lawyers said on Monday.
Attorneys for former president Trump and his co-defendants in the case argued that it was “impossible” for them to secure a complete appeal bond, which would “effectively” require “cash reserves approaching $1 billion”.
They approached 30 underwriters to back the massive sum (equivalent to £356m), which is due by the end of this month, and spent “countless hours negotiating with one of the largest insurance companies in the world”.
In February, Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump and his co-defendants to pay a total $464m in damages and interest for violating a New York anti-fraud statute.
Of that total, the ex-US leader was ordered to pay $454m.
Trump’s post-judgment interest continues to accrue at a rate of nearly $112,000 a day.
CNN quoted his lawyers wrote to the court: “The amount of the judgment, with interest, exceeds $464 million, and very few bonding companies will consider a bond of anything approaching that magnitude.”
The case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James accused Trump, his two adult sons, his company and its top executives of falsely inflating Trump’s asset values for years to boost his net worth and get financial perks.
The defendants had previously offered to post a $100m bond, less than one-fourth the total judgment, in order to pause James from collecting the penalties during the appeal process.
Appeals court Judge Anil Singh rejected that proposal, but allowed the defendants to continue doing business in New York and lifted Engoron’s three-year ban on Trump seeking loans in the state.
Singh’s order is temporarily in effect before a full appeals court panel hears the motion for a stay.
CNBC said Trump’s attorney Alina Habba did not immediately respond to request for comment on the filing.
Earlier this month, he obtained a $91.6m bond from the Chubb insurance company to secure a civil defamation judgment against by fashion writer E Jean Carroll while he appeals.
