Chinese conglomerate Anbang and the family of Jared Kushner have called off talks to redevelop a 7.5-billion-dollar Manhattan office tower amid an outcry over possible conflicts of interest involving the Trump administration.
Anbang Insurance Group Co. began pursuing a possible investment of as much as 1.25 billion dollars in the project at 666 Fifth Avenue last July.
A spokesman for Kushner Companies, which owns the tower at 666 Fifth Avenue, said the two firms had "mutually agreed" to end talks about a deal. The spokesman said Kushner Companies is in "advanced negotiations" with other potential investors.
This file photo taken on February 23, 2017 shows US President Donald Trump alongside White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner (L), during a meeting with manufacturing CEOs in the State Dining Room at the White House in Washington, DC. /CFP Photo
Members of Congress had raised concerns about Anbang's ties to the Chinese government and about a conflict of interest for Jared Kushner, who is a senior adviser to President Trump and is married to Ivanka Trump.
Five Democratic lawmakers wrote to a White House lawyer last week to ask for information about what they called a "highly troubling transaction" between Kushner Companies and Anbang.
The lawmakers cited a Bloomberg News report that said that the deal would have valued the tower at 2.85 billion dollars, the highest in history for a building in Manhattan. The report said the Kushner company would have received 400 million dollars in the deal.
A deal with Anbang would have been a coup for Kushner Companies, which has struggled to make a profit on the building.
The lawmakers' letter also cited a report in The New York Times about a meeting between Kushner and Anbang chairman Wu Xiaohui last November, after President Trump's election victory. The Democrats said Wednesday they haven't heard back from the White House.
Wu Xiaohui, chairman and chief executive officer of Anbang Insurance Group Co., speaks during the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2017 in Boao, China, on March 26, 2017. /CFP Photo
The statement from Kushner Companies did not mention ethics concerns or give any other reason that talks with Anbang were ending.
The deal’s collapse adds a new dimension to the conflict-of-interest debate that has been swirling around the Trump administration.
Until now, most of the attention has focused on ways businesses tied to Trump and his top aides have possibly benefited from their connection to the most powerful position in the world.
But Trump administration supporters point out that the conflict-of-interest issue can cut the other way. Investors might be reluctant to do business with the Trump Organization or Kushner Companies to avoid scrutiny and criticism.
(Source: CNN, Reuters)
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