Thomas Barrack, Executive Chairman and CEO of Colony Capital, attends a panel discussion during the annual Milken Institute Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 28, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.
Michael Kovac | Getty Images
A bail hearing for Thomas Barrack, the private equity investor charged with illegally influencing his close friend, former President Donald Trump, on behalf of the United Arab Emirates, was postponed to Friday in federal court in Los Angeles.
Also on Friday, Falcon Acquisition, a Barrack-backed acquisition special-purpose vehicle, announced to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it is withdrawing its registration with the agency “because the company has decided to abandon proposed transactions.”
The transactions included an IPO of 25 million shares to raise $ 250 million for the Falcon Acquisition, founded by Barracks Family Office Falcon Peak and TI Capital.
Falcon Acquisition, which had planned to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, announced that it would target technology-oriented companies as candidates for mergers.
A Falcon Peak attorney did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
Barrack, 74, has been in prison in Los Angeles since his arrest Tuesday. His bail hearing was originally due to take place on Monday with Thomas Grimes, a 27-year-old Barrack business associate indicted in the case.
But the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, who are prosecuting Barrack and Grimes, said Friday morning that the bail hearing against both men will be held in California at 1 p.m. ET.
Attorneys at Barrack’s first LA court appearance on Tuesday moved to detain him until he appears for at least one more court hearing in Brooklyn, as he could escape to avoid charges. Barrack is a Lebanese citizen and has a private jet.
A Barrack spokesman declined CNBC’s request for comment on the change in bail negotiations.
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Barrack, who chaired Trump’s 2017 housewarming fund, along with Grimes and UAE national Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi, are charged with clandestinely advancing Emirates’ interests on the orders of senior officials in the oil-rich Gulf country. Prosecutors said the three influenced the foreign policy positions of Trump’s 2016 campaign and continued those efforts through Trump’s presidency through April 2018.
Barrack is also charged with obstruction of justice and making several false statements during an interview with federal police officers in June 2019.
The indictment states that Barrack was simultaneously advising American officials informally on Middle East policy and seeking appointment to a senior role in the US government, including special envoy for the Middle East.
Alshahhi, 43, remains at large.
Barrack resigned last year as CEO of Colony Capital, a private equity firm he founded, and as its Executive Chairman in April.
– Additional coverage from CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger
