Donald Trump's former political strategist Paul Manafort named in $2 trillion fraud

Paul Manafort, a political strategist who led Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign has been named in suspicious activity reports (SARs) which states that transactions worth $2tn have been washed through US financial system. Thousands of documents with details of this corruption have been leaked to ICIJ (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists). This leak highlights over 2,000 suspicious activity reports filed with United States government's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). As per ICIJ, se documents have $2 trillion worth transactions dating from between 1999 and 2017. 

Bank and or financial institutions file SARs when y doubt that a client is using ir services for criminal activity. But, filing of a SAR does t mean that bank will stop doing business with client in question. As per report shared by a local news ncy, initially, documents containing details of Paul Manafort being involved in a $2 trillion fraud were provided to BuzzFeed News, which later shared same with International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. documents reveal that major banks of world provided financial services to 'high-risk individuals' including ones who h been placed under sanctions by US government. Manafort's lawyer did t respond to an invitation to comment, said ICIJ. 

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In a statement released earlier this month, FinCEN condemned disclosure of leaked documents and said it h referred matter to US Department of Justice.“ Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is aware that various media outlets intend to publish a series of articles based on unlawfully disclosed suspicious activity reports (SARs), as well as or sensitive government documents, from several years ago,” it stated.

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“As FinCEN has stated previously, unauthorized disclosure of SARs is a crime that can impact national security of United States, compromise law enforcement investigations, and threaten safety and security of institutions and individuals who file such reports.”

Who is Paul Manafort?

Paul Manafort has been political strategist for Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign for several months. He stepped down from this role after his consultancy work for former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych was exposed. He was n convicted of fraud and tax evasion. As per ICIJ, banks began identifying activity linked to Manafort as at beginning of 2012. Later in 2017, JP Morgan Chase filed a report against him in wire transfers worth over $300 million involving shell companies in Cyprus. Cyprus has done business with Paul Manafort in past.

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