Trump’s financial broker, a Russian convicted felon named Felix Sater, widely known as a mafia figure. Set up shell companies, & arranged funding for Trump’s projects including Trump tower Moscow and was part of Putin’s inner circle.
Email he wrote to Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen in November, 2015: “Michael I arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putins private chair at his desk and office in the Kremlin. I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected. We both know no one else knows how to pull this off without stupidity or greed getting in the way. I know how to play it and we will get this done. Buddy our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will.” New York Times August 27, 2017
In 2010, Sater was provided business cards describing himself as "Senior Advisor to Donald Trump" with an email address at TrumpOrg. com. In a 2013 sworn affidavit, Trump said "If [Sater] were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn't know what he looked like," Trump has been photographed several times with Sater, including while speaking privately with him.
In 2020, there was a civil lawsuit accusing Felix Sater and his partner Daniel Ridloff of using Trump properties such as Bayrock to launder millions of dollars in stolen funds. Sater denied the allegations and had attempted to settle the suit. In October 2025, Sater was found liable during a retrial and was ordered to pay $52 million in damages.