The Indian government bought two units in a New York City apartment building developed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, but it did so in 2002, well before Mr. Trump’s political ascendancy, The Hindu has learnt. The Trump World Tower and other properties came into focus recently when Democratic party staff from the U.S. House of Representatives published an extensive report detailing foreign government spending on Trump properties during his presidency .
The Trump World Tower apartment units were purchased in December 2002 by the NDA government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations said. A senior diplomat who was posted to the UN at this time separately confirmed to The Hindu that the apartment unit was bought around then, and that Mr. Trump was not a factor in the purchase. The Permanent Mission refused to disclose the units’ purchase price, but a New York Times report from 2002 said that a small two-bedroom flat was sold at an average of $1.5 million.