Manafort Indicted on 12 Counts Including Conspiracy Against the United States
Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, turned himself in to the FBI Monday morning after he was told to surrender by federal authorities.
Though the details of charges were initially unclear, the indictment against Manafort and Rick Gates, his former business associate, was released shortly after by the Department of Justice — and doesn’t look great for Manafort.
The two were indicted on 12 counts, including “conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.”
Per the indictment, between “at least 2006 and 2015, Manafort and Gates acted as unregistered agents of the Government of Ukraine,” generating “tens of millions of dollars in income” which they allegedly hid from US authorities by laundering it through “scores of US and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts.”
The indictment charges that Manafort laundered a staggering $18 million through offshore accounts — and even wired nearly $1 million to an antique rug store in Alexandria, Virginia.
What’s more: Manafort’s alleged laundering occurred from “approximately 2006 through at least 2016” — meaning it could very well have overlapped with his time on Trump’s campaign (March-August 2016).
Read the full indictment here.
UPDATE – 4:47 p.m. EST: Manafort’s lawyer offered this statement in response to the charges.
Statement from Manafort attorney Kevin Downing. pic.twitter.com/Agin9zV8Gr
— Mike Warren (@MichaelRWarren) October 30, 2017
[image via screengrab]
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