Russia investigation: Paul Manafort, Rick Gates indicted for conspiracy, money laundering, ties to foreign government
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump campaign official Rick Gates surrendered Monday to Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller.
Manafort has been indicted on 12 charges of money-laundering and conspiracy to launder money as well as false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) statements, being an unregistered agent of a foreign principal and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.
Manafort, 68, turned himself in at FBI headquarters early Monday for his role in the scheme to use offshore accounts to hide tens of millions of dollars in payments he received for representing a pro-Kremlin political faction in the Ukraine.
A stereotypical caricature of a villain photo/wikimedia
Richard W. Gates III, 45, is a longtime business associate of Manafort, serving as his deputy on the campaign.
Manafort and Gates used a variety of offshore accounts in Cyprus and other bank secrecy havens to hide $75 million in payments for the lobbying work, allowing them to avoid filing required registrations and to avoid paying taxes, according to the indictment.
“Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the United States, without paying taxes on that income,” the charges said.
Manafort, whose work for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has attracted scrutiny from federal investigators, has previously denied financial wrongdoing regarding his Ukraine-related payments, his bank accounts in offshore tax shelters and his various real-estate transactions over the years.
Manafort’s work warranted a separate federal investigation in 2014, which examined whether he and other Washington-based lobbying firms failed to register as foreign agents for the Yanukovych regime.
Gates joined Manafort’s lobbying firm in the mid-2000s and handled projects in Eastern Europe, which later included work for Yanukovych.
Yanukovych was ousted amid street protests in 2014, and his pro-Russian Party of Regions was accused of corruption and laundering millions of dollars out of Ukraine.
There are no charges linked to any campaign activities, but more charges could follow.
The two are scheduled to make their initial court appearances before US District Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson at 1:30 p.m. ET Monday.
The White House declined comment on the charges.
An unnamed source close to the White House said to CNN, “today has zero to do with the White House,” noting that the charges pertain to Manafort and Gates’ business dealings.
Back in September it came to light that the Obama administration’s officials had wiretapped Manafort and the Trump campaign. In August of 2016, Manafort’s ties to the Ukraine were attacked by Robby Mook, but little press coverage resulted in no political impact at the time.
[…] campaign aides Paul Manafort and Rick Gates were indicted on multiple charges, including money laundering, operating as federal agents of the Ukrainian government, failing to […]