An appeals court has thrown out a $500m (£372m) penalty that President Donald Trump was ordered to pay in a New York civil fraud trial last year.
Judge Arthur Engoron had ordered Trump to pay the fee for massively inflating the value of the Trump Organization’s properties in order to secure favourable loans.
In the ruling, judges on the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division stated that while Trump was liable for the fraud, the fine of nearly half a billion dollars was excessive, which meant it violated protections in the US Constitution against severe punishment.
In the case Judge Engoron had ordered Trump to pay a fine of $355m, but with interest, the sum grew to more than $500m.
In the case against Trump, his two adult sons, and the Trump Organization, Judge Engoron also banned Trump from serving as a company director or taking out loans from banks in the state for three years.
The appellate panel of five judges was divided over the merits of the original lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had accused the Trump and his sons of “persistent and repeated fraud”.
