Donald Trump's friend and fundraiser 'investigated for alleged tax evasion in Italy'

A close friend of Donald Trump and somebody who raised large amounts of money for the campaign that took him to the White House, is reportedly the focus of a tax evasion investigation in Italy.

Thomas Barrack is considered to have played a major role in Mr Trump’s campaign and helped him recruit a longtime friend, the former lobbyist Paul Manafort, to serve as its head before he was forced to resign.

Now, according to the Guardian, Mr Barrack, who delivered a speech at the 2016 Republican convention, is being investigated by officials over allegedly evading $190m in taxes over the sale of a luxury resort in Sardinia.

The newspaper said Mr Barrack and other executives have not formally been charged with wrongdoing. A spokesman for his firm, Colony Capital, declined to comment on the allegations and he has yet to publicly respond to the issue.

It said legal documents relating to the probe, suggested investigators used wiretaps in their inquiry.

Earlier this year, Mr Barrack, who served as the chairman of the presidential Inaugural Committee, told an audience of Wall Street executives that Mr Trump’s unpredictability had gained respect from foreign leaders.

“That lack of predictability has gained respect,” Mr Barrack said. “Every foreign leader has come to the table for him.”

The Guardian said Mr Barrack, who saved Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch from foreclosure while the singer was still alive, was the first major business figure to lend Mr Trump his stamp of approval. He said he called the the New York tycoon “intrinsically and academically first class” and “kind, compassionate, empathetic”.