Former President Donald Trump Fined and Banned from Running Businesses in New York for Three Years

Former US president Donald Trump has been fined $354.9m (£281.6m) after a civil fraud trial in New York.

The judge also banned Trump from running businesses in New York for three years. His sons, Eric and Donald Jr, received similar bans for two years.

Trump and the Trump Organisation were also banned from applying for loans from any New York financial institution for three years.

Following the ruling, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to vent his anger, describing the decision as a “complete and total sham” and accused the judge and prosecutors of being “deluded, biased and crooked”.

He also claimed the judgment was “illegal” and “unAmerican”.

Alina Habba, his lawyer, said after the hearing that the ruling was a “manifest injustice… plain and simple”.

She said in a statement: “It is the culmination of a multi-year, politically fuelled witch hunt that was designed to ‘take down Donald Trump,’ before Letitia James ever stepped foot into the Attorney General’s office.”

Judge Arthur Engoron had already ruled in an earlier judgement that the former president inflated his wealth on financial statements given to banks, insurers and other institutions to make deals and secure loans.

New York Attorney General Letitia James sought $370m (£294m) and a ban on Trump and other defendants from doing business in the state in the civil fraud case.