Trump said he rejected the offer because he did not want to use the presidency.
President Donald Trump has rejected a $ 2 billion offer from the UAE a few days before a meeting of a close friend of his with an Emirati delegation and a Russian investor in Seychelles in early 2017, a US news website reported.
Trump told reporters on January 11 last year that he had responded to an offer from Damac Properties, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is Trump's main trading partner in the Middle East.
Trump said he rejected the offer because he did not want to be seen as taking advantage of his position to serve his business ventures. But I did not have to respond to him, "he said.
On the same day, Blackwater founder and co-founder Erik Prince met with George Nader, chief adviser to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, and Keryl Dmitriev, director of Russia's direct investment fund and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The aim of the Seychelles meeting was to seek a secret channel of communication between the White House and the Kremlin.
The Russian direct investment fund is one of the entities subject to comprehensive economic sanctions imposed by the administration of former President Barack Obama on Russia in 2014 after its aggression against Ukraine and annexed Crimea.
Business Insider said in a report that it was not clear why Trump refused to accept $ 2 billion from Damac, owned by UAE billionaire Hussein Segwani.
Sajwani's relationship with the US president dates back five years when Damac launched the Trump International Golf Club under the $ 2 billion Akoya Real Estate project in Dubai.
