Tuesday 31 July 2018

Paul Manafort earned more than $60 million from Ukraine, Robert Mueller says ahead of trial

Paul Manafort earned more than $60 million from Ukraine, Robert Mueller says ahead of trialDonald Trump's former campaign manager made $60 million from Ukrainian lobbyists to fund a lavish lifestyle of antiques and tailored suits, prosecutors claimed on the eve of his trial. The figures emerged in court filings ahead of Paul Manafort's trial on Tuesday on tax and bank fraud charges. It is the first full tally provided by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, of Mr Manafort's income from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. Prosecutors claim that Mr Manafort, who ran the US president's election campaign for five months, hid more than $30 million of that sum in offshore accounts to evade taxes. During his three-week trial, prosecutors plan to lay out Mr Manafort’s extensive dealings with the pro-Russian Ukrainian political party of Viktor Yanukovych, who was deposed as Ukraine's president in 2014. They claim that when Mr Manafort's income from consulting and foreign lobbying dried up, he lied to banks to get loans to maintain his lavish spending. Jurors will be shown photographs illustrating how he spent $6.4 million on properties in New York and Virginia, a further $7.3 million on renovating his homes and $820,000 on landscaping. In addition, he sent $2 million for rugs and antiques and almost $1.4 million on Beverly Hills tailored suits and designer clothes. In total $75 million flowed through his offshore accounts, according to court documents filed on Monday. It is the first trial to stem from Mr Mueller's extensive investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and will give the American public its most detailed glimpse of what his team has found in the last year. Adding to the intrigue, Mr Manafort's deputy, Rick Gates, is expected to testify against him after cutting a plea deal with prosecutors. While the trial does not touch directly on Russian links to the Trump campaign, the outcome of the trial will be closely followed in Washington. An acquittal will boost the Trump administration's calls to have the Russia investigation - which they frequently refer to as a witch hunt - to be wound down. A conviction for Mr Manafort will add to Mr Mueller's credibility. Former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is now on Mr Trump's legal team Credit: Getty Ahead of the trial, Mr Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, sought to distance Mr Manafort from the president, saying he "was not involved with intimate business relationships". "He has no information incriminating of the president. I know that for a fact. They can squeeze him - he doesn't know anything. He was with him for four months," he told CNN on Monday. Mr Giuliani went on to question whether collusion - the crux of Mr Mueller's investigation - is in fact a crime. "[Mr Trump's team are] not going to be colluding with Russia, which I don't even know if that's a crime, colluding about Russians," he said. "You start analysing the crime - the hacking is the crime. ... The President didn't hack." Russia investigation Legal experts have suggested that anyone found collaborating with Russia on the presidential election could be charged with crimes such as conspiracy or being an accessory to hacking. Since Mr Mueller took over the investigation last May, the special counsel has charged 32 people, including 26 Russians and several people linked to the Trump campaign. Five people, including Mr Gates, have pleaded guilty. Mr Manafort faces a second trial in Washington DC on related charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent and lying to the government in September. The most serious charges against him carry prison sentences of up to 30 years each.  




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