Manafort was millions in debt to pro-Russia interests: report

Paul Manafort owed as much as $17 million in debt to pro-Russia interests before signing on as President Trump’s campaign manager in March of 2016, according to newly revealed financial records.

The New York Times on Wednesday reported that records filed in Cyprus, where Manafort was keeping bank accounts, showed that money was owed by shell companies tied to Manafort’s work in Ukraine as a consultant for the pro-Russia political party of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was removed from power in during a 2010 uprising.

The report comes shortly after it was announced that Manafort and Donald Trump Jr. are set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee in a public hearing Wednesday.

{mosads}Manafort and Trump Jr. have come under fire over the last week following reports the two attended a June 2016 meeting with a woman presented as a Russian government lawyer offering damaging information on then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. 

The meeting has become a flashpoint in the roiling controversy over the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. 

Manafort’s relationships with pro-Russia figures and work in the Trump campaign have been central to the investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election, including any possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The former campaign chairman’s lobbying work for pro-Russia groups was made known earlier this year, and his finances have been under investigation. In May, The New York Times reported that Russian spies had strategized during the election how best to leverage Manafort to influence Trump.