Manafort and Gates served for years as political consultants and lobbyists. Between 2006 and 2015, they acted as registered agents of the government of Ukraine. The two generated tens of millions of dollars in income as a result of their Ukraine work. In order to hide the payments from the United States, from approximately 2006 through 2016 the two laundered the money through scores of United States and foreign corporations partnerships and bank accounts.
The indictment also said the two funneled millions of dollars in payments into foreign nominee companies and bank accounts including Cypress, Saint Vincent, and the two hid the existence of those entities- falsely and repeatedly reporting on their tax returns and to United States that they had no foreign bank accounts.
The two also concealed from the United States their work as agents and millions of dollars of payments from Ukraine and it’s political party in leaders.
“Manafort used the hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle in the United States without paying taxes on that income.”
The indictments said that Manafort “spent millions of dollars on luxury goods and services for himself and his extended family through payments wired from these offshore accounts.”
Manafort also purchased property in the United States with the money defrauding the institutions that loaned him the money.
More than $75 million flowed through the offshore accounts, more than $18 million was used by him to buy property, goods, services.
Gates transferred more than $3 million from the offshore accounts two other accounts and he controlled.
The counts included conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, six counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, failure to register as an agent of a foreign principle, false and misleading FARA statements, and false statements to the government.
