As President Donald Trump prepares to host Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington next week, his business partner in India is gearing up to sell high-priced condominiums at Trump Tower Mumbai.
While the timing may be coincidental, it points to possible conflicts of interest: Trump continues to profit from a business deal with India’s largest real estate developer, who has close ties to the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The developer, Mangal Lodha, the founder and major shareholder in the Lodha Group, is a senior party figure in the state of Maharashtra. His political manifesto echoes a familiar slogan: “making Mumbai great again.”
Lodha’s son, Abhishek, who took over running the family business in 2010, says he sees no conflict because Trump hasn’t been involved with the company since he entered the White House. Lodha paid Trump as much as $5 million for the licensing deal on the Mumbai development, according to the president’s financial disclosures.
"There cannot be any conflict of interest in relation to his association with us,” Lodha said in an interview in London. “Mr. Trump becoming president and the Trump’s organization relationship with us are completely independent, and any attempts to link the two are not grounded in facts."
In January, Trump handed over management of his company to his two older sons but refused calls to divest. Critics of the president frequently complain that this unprecedented arrangement is problematic because it can create doubt about whether the president is putting his interests ahead of the nation’s. Trump’s dealings with Modi illustrate this potential collision between his priorities as a businessman and his decisions as president.
Special Treatment?
As Trump and the U.S. State Department negotiate with India, his company is accepting payments from business partners with ties to the Indian government. That raises questions about whether Trump stands to profit from his foreign policy decisions, and also whether Indian authorities will give special treatment to the president’s Indian business partners to win his favor.
Three lawsuits now accuse Trump of violating the U.S. constitution by accepting payments from foreign governments and state officials.
Both the White House and the Trump Organization declined to comment for this story.