The deal cut short a potential daylong hearing in Manhattan that was to feature witnesses, the Associated Press reported. As part of an agreement reached during a 20-minute break, lawyers for Trump and Knight Specialty Insurance Co. agreed to keep the $175 million in an interest-bearing cash account but not exposed to any risk. The account has so far grown by more than $700,000. The deal prevents the state from potentially seizing Trump’s assets to satisfy the more than $454 million he owes after losing a lawsuit brought by Democratic Attorney General Letitia James. She alleged that Trump, along with his company and its top executives, defrauded banks and insurers by lying about his wealth. The former president and likely Republican presidential nominee in November denies the allegations and is appealing the judgment. Justice Arthur Engoron, who in February imposed the hefty penalty after finding that Trump and others misled banks and insurers about the value of his assets in financial statements, presided over the hearing Tuesday and at times engaged in a testy exchange with Trump lawyer Christopher Kise. Engoron challenged Kise with hypotheticals about how money Trump has tied up might not be available to collect if the judgment is upheld, leading Kise at one point to call the “judge’s hypotheticals … extremely speculative.” At another point, Kise expressed frustration with the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, saying, “It seems like no matter what we do, it’s never going to be good enough.” But Andrew Amer, a lawyer for the state, proposed the terms of the deal shortly after the hearing began, saying the state wanted the extra protections because Trump had moved the money with the help of a relatively small, out-of-state insurer. As part of the deal, Knight Specialty Insurance will have sole control over the $175 million and will submit to the jurisdiction of New York state courts while agreeing not to move the money into mutual funds or other financial instruments. Speaking to reporters outside Trump’s criminal tax fraud trial, also in New York, the Republican’s lawyer Alina Habba accused Engoron of “not understanding basic principles of finance.” Trump also has criticized Engoron, accusing him of not understanding the case. Read Also: Trump acusado de querer influenciar eleição de 2016 de forma ilegal (Portuguese version)