New York judge rejects Trump's request to delay the $355 million fine payment for fraud cases by one month

EFE

New York judge Arthur Engoron, overseeing the fraud cases that led to a $355 million fine for Donald Trump, has rejected the request to delay the final judgment and, consequently, the payment of the penalty by a month.

The defense team of the former U.S. president had asked the judge on February 21 to postpone the multimillion-dollar payment that Trump must make for his role in various fraud cases in his family business.

More: Donald Trump's defense requests a 30-day delay in the payment of the $355 million fine for the fraud trial

Trump's lawyers had requested Engoron, who issued the sentence against Trump last week, to delay the implementation of the verdict by 30 days, which already provided a one-month deadline for the Republican to pay the fine.

The judge has rejected this request and communicated it to Trump's lawyers and the New York Attorney General in an email sent yesterday, as reported by local media on Friday.

Once the verdict is officially issued, the 30-day period for Trump to file an appeal will begin, although in the meantime, he will have to post a bond to cover part of the fine.

In the email, Engoron rejected Trump's request to delay the payment for an additional thirty days and wrote, "He has not explained, let alone justified, any basis for a stay," according to CNN. 

More: Trump compares the criminal proceedings against him to the persecution of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who filed the civil lawsuit against the Republican, his two eldest sons, and two former executives of the Trump Organization for inflating asset figures to gain advantages with insurers and banks, has threatened to seize his assets if the former president does not pay the money.

In addition to the fine, the former president will not be allowed to operate any business in New York for the next three years.