Trump and Lutnick Sons Invested in a Kazakhstan Mining Deal Their Fathers Were Negotiating
Summary: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met Kazakhstan’s president at the St. Regis Hotel in New York last September, where Trump joined by phone and helped seal a deal giving a little-known American company now called Kaz Resources rights to one of the world’s largest untapped tungsten reserves. Within weeks, Dominari Securities, partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, took a 20 percent stake in the Kazakhstan project, while Cantor Fitzgerald helped raise $210 million for ASP Isotopes, a company connected to the same deal. Kazakhstan formally signed the agreement on November 6, six days after the Trump sons’ investment. The White House and Commerce Department denied any impropriety, and the deals are now drawing congressional scrutiny, with Representative Maxine Dexter calling for verification that taxpayer dollars are serving the public interest.
:The latest
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met Kazakhstan's president at the St. Regis Hotel in New York last September. Trump joined by phone and sealed a deal granting a little-known American company — now called Kaz Resources — rights to one of the world's largest untapped tungsten reserves. Weeks later, the president's sons were investors in the same deal their father had just brokered.
Details
• Within weeks of the St. Regis meeting, Dominari Securities — partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and based at Trump Tower — took a 20 percent stake in the Kazakhstan project. The investment was not publicly disclosed at the time.
• Cantor Fitzgerald, controlled by the Lutnick family and overseen by sons Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, helped raise $210 million for ASP Isotopes, a company connected to the same deal. Such fundraising rounds typically generate millions in fees for the bank.
• Kazakhstan formally signed the agreement on November 6 — six days after the Trump sons' investment was made.
• The White House and Commerce Department both rejected any suggestion of impropriety, saying the administration's decisions are guided solely by American national and economic security interests.
• Kazakhstan's president described Trump as having been "sent by Heaven," as the Central Asian nation works to deepen U.S. ties to offset pressure from Russia and China.
What to watch
The deals are drawing congressional scrutiny. Representative Maxine Dexter, the top Democrat on the House mining oversight panel, said Congress must verify that taxpayer dollars are serving the public interest, not administration-linked families. With the Times identifying at least 14 mining companies tied to both families that have received or are seeking federal support, pressure for a broader investigation is likely to grow.