A stalled building project in Argentina bearing President-elect Donald Trump’s name reportedly picked up steam days after he spoke with Argentina’s president.
According to Quartz, three days after Trump spoke with President Mauricio Macri, one of his real estate projects in Buenos Aires made headway after years of delays. That report was based on a story out of the Argentina-based La Nacion.
{mosads}The report noted that there is no substantive indication that Trump’s conversation with Macri had anything to do with the project getting a green light, but is just the latest in a series of questions about possible conflicts posed by Trump’s efforts to serve as president while maintaining a global business portfolio.
Construction on that $100 million building is set to begin in June 2017, but still has to be permitted by the government.
Earlier, La Nacion had reported comments from an Argentine journalist claiming that Trump had raised the building project — a massive office building in the heart of Buenos Aires — in a congratulatory phone call with Macri. A spokesperson for Macri later denied that the project came up in that conversation, and noted that the two have a longstanding relationship predating Trump’s political career.
Trump has resisted calls to liquidate his assets to avoid any potential conflicts of interest, arguing instead he wants to hand off the business to his children to operate. But even that arrangement has drawn questions from ethics experts, particularly as Trump’s children have taken official roles in the presidential transition.
La Nacion reported that Argentina’s foreign minister, Susana Malcorra, had a conversation with Eric Trump following the election, facilitated by Felipe Yaryura, the co-owner of YY Development, the Argentine firm spearheading the Trump building project in Buenos Aires.