Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump, has been indicted by a federal grand jury alongside his business associate, Richard Gates. The 12-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy against the U.S., conspiracy to launder money, failing to register as foreign agents, and providing false statements to investigators, among other charges.
They were indicted on Friday, October 27, but the case was not unsealed until Monday, October 30, after the defendants agreed to surrender themselves to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Separately, one of the early foreign policy advisers to Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, George Papadopoulos, also pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about a contact with a professor with ties to Kremlin officials, prosecutors said on Monday.
Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates are the first to be indicted in an investigation headed by U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller.
Mr. Manafort, who resigned from his position as President Trump’s campaign chairman in August 2016, has been under investigation for his alleged ties to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He has also been under investigation for his lobbying on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party.
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, was assigned in May to investigate whether anyone close to Mr. Trump participated in a Russian government effort to influence last year’s presidential election. Monday’s indictments indicate that Mr. Mueller has taken an expansive view of his mandate.
Mr. Mueller announced on Monday that Mr. Manafort laundered a total of $18 million. “Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the United States without paying taxes on that income,” the indictment reads. A long-time associate of Mr. Mueller, Mr. Gates, was charged with transferring over $3 million from offshore accounts.
“In total, more than $75 million flowed through offshore accounts,” the indictment reads. The two defendants were both charged with making false statements to authorities, including bookkeepers, tax accountants, and legal counsel, the New York Times reports.
The FBI raided Mr. Manafort’s Virginia residence in July following allegations that he had sought to launder millions of dollars in payments from Ukraine.
