A Russian-American businessman based in Miami is suspected of making nearly $23 million from alleged insider trading involving former President Donald Trump’s media company, according to federal court records, the Miami Herald reported.
The businessman, Anton Postolnikov, is the owner of a Caribbean bank that caters to the porn industry and also reportedly loaned $8 million to Trump’s media company. Postolnikov, who owns a few residences on exclusive Fisher Island in Miami, is the nephew of a former high-ranking Russian government official who at one time was a staffer for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to media reports.
The insider trading allegations surfaced in court documents filed last month in a New York securities fraud case brought last year against three South Florida men: Michael Shvartsman, 52, of Sunny Isles Beach; Gerald Shvartsman, 46, of Aventura; and Bruce Garelick, 54, of Fort Lauderdale. They are accused of making about $23 million from insider trades on the Trump Media merger with Digital World Acquisition, and sharing non-public information with friends and business associates about the impending deal so they could profit, according to an indictment.
Trump Media for nearly 2 1/2 years has been trying to go public via a merger with Digital World.
The SPAC has also faced federal scrutiny. Digital World agreed last summer to pay a civil fine of $18 million for alleged merger talks with Trump Media and Technology Group prior to Digital World’s IPO. Such discussions are illegal. Trump Media is not connected to the SPAC’s civil penalty, which would be waived if the merger fails to occur.
