Paul Manafort released a statement Monday blasting The New York Times report that linked him to a vast operation in Ukraine that paid him nearly $13 million in cash over a five-year period for his role in support of the pro-Russia president he helped to elect.
The Times reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in Ukraine found 22 entries with Manafort's name listed in secret ledgers that totaled $12.7 in cash payments, though sans proof that Manafort ever received the monies.
"I have never received a single 'off the books cash payment' as falsely 'reported' by the New York Times, nor have I ever done work for the governments of Ukraine or Russia," Manafort said in the statement obtained by NBC News.
"The suggestion that I accepted cash payments is unfounded, silly and nonsensical."
The Times reported the Corruption Bureau saying the monies funded a vast network of operatives intent on influencing elections and looting assets under Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russia president who was ousted in 2014.
"My work in Ukraine ceased following the country's parliamentary elections in October 2014," Manafort said in the statement.
"In addition, as the article points out hesitantly, every government official interviewed states I have done nothing wrong, and there is no evidence of 'cash payments' made to me by any official in Ukraine."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.