Trump Faces Scottish Court Over £800,000 Legal Bill
Former MI6 spy's company seeks unpaid costs from Trump's golf resort in Scotland.
A company founded by former MI6 spy Christopher Steele is pursuing Donald Trump in a Scottish court for over £800,000 in unpaid legal costs stemming from a data protection case.
Orbis Business Intelligence, founded by Steele, is seeking the funds from the Trump Turnberry golf resort. The case at Ayr Sheriff Court concerns legal costs owed by Trump from a 2024 English data protection lawsuit against Orbis director Steele. Steele is known for authoring the "dossier" that linked Trump to Russia during the 2016 election campaign.
London's High Court had previously ruled Trump's action out of time and ordered him to pay Orbis £680,000 in legal costs. Orbis is now targeting Trump's financial interests at Turnberry to claim the funds. The case is being heard in Scotland because the resort falls within Ayr Sheriff Court's jurisdiction, although Steele and Orbis have no direct connection to the area.
Court documents reveal that due to accrued interest, the amount sought by Orbis through two applications now totals £789,812.91. Orbis's advocate, Duncan Hamilton KC, stated in a procedural hearing that Trump has refused or failed to pay the costs awarded by the English court over the past 18 months, leading to the sum now exceeding £800,000. He added that Orbis has spent significant time and money pursuing Trump in various jurisdictions.
SLC Turnberry Limited, the company that owns the golf course, is disputing Trump's direct ownership, arguing that his stake is held by a trust. Turnberry's advocate, David Massaro, informed the court that the company's position is that Trump's shares are held by trustees, which is not considered a "sufficient link" to the company. Hamilton countered that Trump has consistently asserted ownership of Turnberry in federal filings and court statements, and that Turnberry's stance implies these assertions are false.
A sheriff ordered a further hearing to take place in November and instructed that Trump be informed of the updated amount claimed by Orbis.
Christopher Steele, a former head of MI6's Russia desk, was hired in 2016 by a law firm connected to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign to investigate alleged links between Trump and Russia. The resulting dossier contained uncorroborated intelligence claims, which were later published by Buzzfeed in 2017. Trump has denied all the claims.
The Trump family acquired the Turnberry resort in Ayrshire in June 2014. Donald Trump was a director at SLC Turnberry Ltd until January 2017, shortly before his inauguration as U.S. president. His sons, Don Jr. and Eric, remain directors. Companies House records indicate that Donald Trump Sr. has significant control over a company named Golf Recreation Scotland, which in turn has significant control over SLC Turnberry.