Criminal probe launched into Trump Organization

"We have informed the Trump Organization that our investigation into the organization is no longer purely civil in nature. We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan District Attorney. We have no additional comment at this time," Fabien Levy, spokesman of New York Attorney General Letitia James' office, was quoted as saying.

The New York Attorney General's office started a civil probe into the Trump Organization in 2019 on whether valuation of relevant assets were inflated to get loans and insurance coverage or deflated to reduce tax payment, reports Xinhua news agency.

Moreover, the Manhattan District Attorney's office has been pursuing a criminal investigation since 2018 regarding hush-money payment in the 2016 presidential campaign, fraud and tax evasion.

Without issuing a formal comment on the development, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted on Wednesday, saying: "The New York Attorney General's office is literally being used as a political weapon and it's setting a very dangerous precedent going forward."

Former President Donald Trump is the founder of the Trump Organization, with his two sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump now working as Executive Vice Presidents.