NEW YORK: Former US president Donald Trump and his family faced the increasing likelihood of criminal charges after New York state said on Tuesday it was working with Manhattan investigators in its probe into his business dealings.

The office of New York state’s Attorney General Letitia James announced it was investigating the Trump Organization in a “criminal capacity”.

Previously, it had said its probe into possible tax, insurance and bank fraud was through civil proceedings, which do not carry the threat of an indictment or imprisonment.

Trump denies wrongdoing and released a statement on Wednesday describing the investigation and the parallel criminal probe by Manhattan’s district attorney as “a continuation of the greatest political witch-hunt in the history of the United States”.

The prosecutors in both Manhattan and New York state are Democrats.

“We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature,” said a spokesman for James.

“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA,” Fabien Levy, the spokesman, added. The Trump Organization is the holding company for hundreds of Trump entities, ranging from hotels to golf courses.

It is not listed on the stock exchange and is therefore not required to report its accounts.

Investigators suspect the organisation may have artificially inflated and reduced the value of assets, particularly several properties in New York state, to either get bank loans or reduce their taxes.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s investigation initially focused on hush payments made to two women who allege they had affairs with Trump, but has expanded to allegations of tax evasion, and insurance and bank fraud.

Vance, who leaves his post at the end of December, acquired eight years of Trump’s tax returns in February after a years-long legal battle that went to the Supreme Court.

Two state assistant attorneys general will join the Manhattan DA’s efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter cited in The New York Times, as James’s office continues its civil inquiry.

Bennett Gershman, professor of criminal law at Pace University and a former Manhattan deputy attorney, said James’s announcement amounts to a “show of strength” by the two prosecutors. “They are showing they mean business,” he said. “They are moving forward aggressively. They are not backing off.

“Looking at this announcement I’d say we are much closer to charges being brought,” Gershman added.

Observers suspect the statement was also intended to increase pressure on key witnesses, namely Trump’s long-serving chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, whom prosecutors hope will collaborate with them.

Recently, investigators took possession of financial documents belonging to his son in order to put pressure on the 73-year-old.

Trump said in his statement that prosecutors were “in desperate search of a crime”, but his lawyers appear to be gearing up for a case.

The Trump Organization bolstered its legal team last month, hiring veteran criminal defence attorney Ronald Fischetti, 84.

Since leaving the White House in January after his defeat to Joe Biden, the former businessman and reality TV star retains a strong hold on many Republican voters — despite losing his powerful social-media megaphones of Twitter and Facebook.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2021