Ukraine lawmaker claims Manafort tried to hide $750K payment
KIEV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian lawmaker on Tuesday released a document that he said links President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, to attempts to hide a $750,000 payment from a pro-Russia political party — a claim denied by Manafort’s spokesman.
Serhiy Leshchenko published a 2009 invoice purportedly signed by Manafort that shows a $750,000 payment for 501 computers to a company called Davis Manafort. The money came from a Belize-registered offshore company via a bank in Kyrgyzstan.
Leshchenko said the contract was a cover for payments made to Manafort for work he did for the proRussian Party of the Regions in Ukraine, which backed former Russia-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled the country amid anti-government protests in 2014. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the document.
Jason Maloni, a spokesman for Manafort, called the allegations “baseless” and said they should be “summarily dismissed.”
Ukraine’s National AntiCorruption Bureau, or NABU, which was set up to investigate official corruption, said it is not going to look into the reports, since Manafort is not a Ukrainian citizen.
Manafort left Trump’s campaign in August after revelations about his work for Yanukovych’s party. He’s one of the Trump associates now under scrutiny for possible contacts with Russia during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. His name came up repeatedly during Monday’s House intelligence committee hearing on that topic.
Manafort defended himself Tuesday against suggestions he played a role in Russia’s efforts to interfere with the U.S. vote, saying in a statement that he had “no role or involvement” in the cyberhacking of the Democratic National Committee and the disclosure of stolen emails. He also insisted that he’s never spoken to any Russian officials or others who claimed to be involved in the hacking attack.
Leshchenko said the 2009 invoice was one of about 50 pages of documents, including private paperwork and copies of debit cards issued for employees, which were found in Manafort’s Kiev office by a new tenant.
Leshchenko would not say whether he has shared his findings with U.S. authorities.