Paul Manafort was pressured by a former Russian spy to pay back millions of dollars he owed while he was chairing Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, according to an investigation by Time Magazine.
Victor Boyarkin said he contacted Mr Manafort on behalf of Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch with close ties to the Kremlin and the subject of US sanctions since earlier this year, to collect the debt.
"He owed us a lot of money," Mr Boyarkin, a former arms dealer, told Time. "And he was offering ways to pay it back."
The allegations will add to concerns that Kremlin-linked figures had leverage over Mr Manafort during a critical part of the campaign.
Mr Trump’s supporters insist there is no evidence of collusion between his aides and Russia. The president himself repeated his familiar denial on Twitter after the latest allegations were published.
“The Russian Collusion fabrication is the greatest Hoax in the history of American politics,” he wrote. “The only Russian Collusion was with Hillary and the Democrats!”
However, critics point out that connections have surfaced repeatedly as Robert Mueller continues his federal investigation into allegations Moscow attempted to influence the election outcome, and that Russia may have been seeking to capitalise on a mix of oddballs and outsiders attracted to the unorthodox Republican candidate.
Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor and lecturer at the University of Alabama School of Law, wrote on Twitter: “The best case for Trump is that he didn’t know Manafort was deeply in debt to and compromised by the Russians when he hired him as campaign manager. If his vetting was that deficient, it’s not in the realm of possibility for him to run the country.”
Mr Manafort is currently in jail awaiting sentencing. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to two charges of conspiracy and witness tampering. He has also admitted other financial and lobbying crimes and could yet face more charges. He declined to comment on the Time article.
Although his crimes are not related to his campaign work, Trump critics suggest that Russian operatives were able to identify and manipulate flaws.
Mr Boyarkin said it was up to him to collect the debt from Mr Manafort. “I came down on him hard,” he claimed.
He also told Time he had been approached by Mr Mueller's investigators but declined to cooperate.
“I told them to go dig a ditch,” he said.
His alleged role in trying to push Russian influence around the world was laid bare in a new list of sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department this month.
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Read more:
Flynn's deep co-operation with prosecutors may spare him jail time
Donald Trump calls for his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen to be jailed
How Donald Trump became 'Individual 1' in Robert Mueller's Russia investigation
Trump’s ex-lawyer pleads guilty to lying over Russia probe to protect president
Paul Manafort lied to FBI and special counsel after striking plea deal
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He was described as a “former GRU [military intelligence] officer who reports directly to Deripaska and has led business negotiations on Deripaska’s behalf”. He was sanctioned for his alleged role in trying to interfere in Montenegro’s parliamentary election in 2016.
That country’s pro-Russia opposition has been accused of trying to assassinate the prime minister as part of an effort to prevent it joining Nato. Russia has denied any involvement and there is no evidence to suggest Mr Boyarkin or Mr Deripaska were involved.
However, that plot has crystallised Western fears about how Moscow is trying to manipulate foreign democracies.
Mr Manafort’s previous work for Mr Deripaska, once Russia’s richest man, is well known. The Associated Press reported last year that from 2006 the American lobbyist had a $10m contract with him to help win positive coverage for Vladimir Putin’s government around the world, although both men said it was purely for business and consulting services.
It later emerged that lawyers for the oligarch had filed a suit against Mr Manafort in the Cayman Islands alleging that he had “simply disappeared” with $19m. A second suit was filed in New York this year accusing Mr Manafort and others of taking $26m.
Mr Manafort resurfaced in April of 2016 when he joined the Trump campaign initially as an unpaid adviser before becoming chairman in June. He joined the campaign almost broke and deeply in debt to Mr Deripaska, according to Time.
At one of the crucial moments, just before Mr Trump accepted the party nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Mr Manafort offered to brief Mr Deripaska on the 2016 race.
“If he needs private briefings we can accommodate,” he wrote in an email sent via an intermediary, his former business associate Konstantin Kilimnik, according to The Washington Post.
Mr Kilimnik referred to an associate with ties to Mr Deripaska as "our friend V", who Time says is Mr Boyarkin.
A spokesman for the Mueller investigation also declined to comment on the reports.
It leaves the Russia investigation still without a smoking gun when it comes to allegations that the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow. However, it reinforces findings that a slew of Mr Trump’s associated were in touch with Kremlin-connected figures during 2016.
LOVE%20AGAIN
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Jim%20Strouse%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Priyanka%20Chopra%20Jonas%2C%20Sam%20Heughan%2C%20Celine%20Dion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
2.15pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Maqam, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer).
2.45pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m
Winner: Mamia Al Reef, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
3.15pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m
Winner: Jaahiz, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.
3.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m
Winner: Qanoon, Szczepan Mazur, Irfan Ellahi.
4.15pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Cup Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 1,700m.
Winner: Philosopher, Tadhg O’Shea, Salem bin Ghadayer.
54.45pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m
Winner: Jap Al Yassoob, Fernando Jara, Irfan Ellahi.
Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World by Michael Ignatieff
Harvard University Press
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
PFA Premier League team of 2018-19
Allison (Liverpool)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Aymeric Laporte (Manchester City)
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool)
Paul Pogba (Manchester United)
Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
