Former Trump Lobbyist Found Guilty of Tax Evasion and Bank Fraud

Paul Manafort, former campaign chairman of US President Donald Trump has been found guilty of eight fraud charges out of which five charges are imposed on counts of tax evasion, two charges imposed on counts of bank fraud and the last one on count of not being able to disclose a foreign bank account, and is now facing potential jail sentence.

Manafort’s convictions during trial in federal court in Virginia resulted following investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into possible Russian meddling in the 2016 elections.

During the trial, prosecutors said that Mr Manafort, a veteran political operative who has worked on Republican presidential campaigns, had lied to Internal Revenue Service when reporting his income earned from his political consulting work in Ukraine and other parts of the world. The prosecutor also said that Mr Manafort has also lied to banks when seeking personal loans.

The prosecution also claimed that Manafort started evading tax once he realized that his income from his consultancy work in Ukraine has started to dry up.

Mr Manafort will face another trial in a completely separate case in Washington DC in September. In this case, Manafort will face charges of conspiring to launder millions of dollars in overseas earnings, making false statements and failing to register as a foreign agent.

Manafort’s lawyer has said that the veteran political lobbyist is assessing all his options’ and is disappointed on not getting acquitted of all the charges imposed during the trial that took place in Virginia.