Citing Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the New York Times (NYT) reported the ledgers revealed some $12.7m (£9.8m) in undisclosed cash payments designated for Manafort from the Yanukovych administration between 2007 and 2012. Investigators are looking into whether the money was part of an illegal off-the-book system that may have also made payment to election officials, the Times reported.
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“The simplest answer is the truth: I am a campaign professional”, said Manafort in a statement Monday. Manafort previously worked as a consultant for the now defunct Party of Regions.
He added that all political payments directed at him were for his entire staff and their work on campaigns, and that the allegation he received cash was “silly”.
The report also said that the investigators have not yet determined whether Manafort actually received the payments but that “prosecutors say he must have realized the implications of his financial dealings”.
The bombshell story came amid increased scrutiny of Trump and his campaign’s ties to Russian Federation, which followed a hack of the Democratic National Committee’s email accounts that was tied to Russian Federation.
Manafort’s ties to Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian former president of Ukraine, are well documented, reports CBS News correspondent Major Garrett. The details were uncovered by Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau that is trying to piece together the vast network of corruption that the previous government used to essentially loot the state.
In his statement, Manafort said his work in Ukraine ceased in October 2014. Trump has regularly lauded Putin’s leadership capabilities, has suggested that as president he would foster friendlier relations with Russian Federation and has called on Russian Federation to use its espionage capabilities to hack into Clinton’s e-mails.
Manafort issued a statement Monday, denying he received an “off-the-books cash payment”.
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The hacked emails, some of which were released by WikiLeaks, were an attempt to harm Hillary Clinton’s campaign and boost Trump – who has spoken favorably of Putin and promises to bolster U.S. From Trump’s evasive rhetoric about his relationship with the autocratic leader.to the Trump campaign’s efforts to change his party’s platform to boost Putin’s position, to Trump’s antipathy towards the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation alliance, the Republicans’ 2016 nominee is the most pro-Russia candidate Americans have seen in generations.
