Donald Trump’s business empire was in the firing line on Friday after claims that an accused fraudster flogged rooms in a Panama apartment block to Russian mafia figures.

The US president agreed to lend his name and provide management services to the 70-floor tower, which was named the Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower, in around 2005.

However a key salesman of apartments there, Alexandre Ventura Nogueira, has since been charged with fraud and admitted some of his partners and investors had links to the “Russian mafia”.

It has led to questions over whether Mr Trump did enough to ensure the project was not used by customers to launder money. There is no suggestion Mr Trump was aware of any criminal activity.

The allegations surfaced in an investigation by the news agency Reuters and broadcaster NBC, as well as a report by the anti-corruption group Global Witness.

Sales for the apartment block begun in 2006 and it opened in 2011. Mr Trump appears to have gained tens of millions from the deal before the project struggled after the global financial crash.