Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators in Kiev say they have found the
name of Donald Trump’s campaign chairman in a secret ledger left behind
by ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. The ledger reportedly shows $12.7
million in undisclosed cash payments meant for Paul Manafort from
Yanukovych’s political party from 2007 to 2012. Investigators say the
document detailing cash payments is proof of an illegal scheme of
kickbacks and bribes that includes election officials in addition to
Manafort. Although it’s no secret that Manafort worked for Yanukovych,
the alleged cash payments designated for him have not previously been
reported. It was unclear whether he ever actually received the payments.
But Vitaliy Kasko, a former top official with the general prosecutor’s
office, told The New York Times that Manafort must have understood he
was involved with a corrupt leader. “It would have to be clear to any
reasonable person that the Yanukovych clan, when it came to power, was
engaged in corruption,” Kasko said. In a statement early Monday,
Manafort accused the newspaper of “purposefully” ignoring the facts of
the case. “I have never received a single ‘off-the-books cash payment’
as falsely ‘reported’ by The New York Times, nor have I ever done work
for the governments of Ukraine or Russia,” he said, adding that his
Ukraine work ended following the country’s parliamentary elections in
2014. |
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