Donald Trump's real-estate empire rented out a New York City office space to an Iranian bank U.S. authorities have linked to terror groups and Iran's nuclear-weapons program, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the Center for Public Integrity reports.
A study of public records by the ICIJ revealed Trump inherited Bank Melli as a tenant when he bought the General Motors Building. He then kept it as a tenant from 1998-2003, even after the U.S. Treasury, in 1999, designated the bank as controlled by Iran.
According to the group's study, federal officials later alleged that Bank Melli had been used to obtain sensitive materials for Iran's nuclear program.
One court document shows Bank Melli's rent may have been in excess of a half a million dollars a year.
"The legal ramifications of the Trump Organization taking rent payments from Bank Melli are unclear," said the ICIJ, which added that the Trump campaign declined to answer any questions about Bank Melli for its article.