Mr. Moscow, who reviewed the documents for The Times, said there was no indication
that Yusuf or his associates were involved in any improper conduct, but added, “You have a whole bunch of documents that don’t say what these companies do.”
“The use of these entities can be legitimate, or it can be mischievous,” he said, “but you don’t know and there’s no one who is accountable.”
A savvy self-promoter, Mr. Sarimsakci has a good deal in common with Mr. Trump: He
briefly operated a business investment seminar program and he values appearances.
“That particular owner got out ahead of his skis for whatever reason,” said Mr. Danziger, who said
that there were four potential Scion deals in the Dallas area, calling it “a perfect market for us.” He said that a potential Alterra partnership was still on the table and that foreign ties would not automatically disqualify it.
“For construction, we do business in Russia, Kazakhstan
and Iraq, and we have a big office in Istanbul,” Mike Sarimsakci said in 2015 at a start-up event in Texas, adding, “And that’s run by my brother, my partner.”
The Times’s review of Alterra’s international business dealings also found
that Yusuf had worked with an array of companies based in corporate secrecy and tax havens like the British Virgin Islands, a revelation from the vast leak of legal and financial documents known as the Panama Papers.
Turkish Trump,’ a Hotel Plan and a Tangle of Foreign Ties -
By STEVE EDER and BEN PROTESSMARCH 22, 2017
DALLAS — Before taking office, Donald J. Trump pledged that his business empire would forgo new deals abroad while he was president.
