Manafort pressured by Russians to ‘pay back debt’

Paul Manafort was pressured by a former Russian associate to pay back millions he owed during the time he was running Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to a new report from Time magazine.

Former Russian intelligence officer Victor Boyarkin was in touch with Manafort during the 2016 US presidential campaign on behalf of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who has close ties to the Kremlin, the magazine reported Saturday.

Boyarkin told Time magazine that he contacted Manafort to collect the debt he owed to Deripaska.

“He owed us a lot of money,” Boyarkin told Time this past fall. “And he was offering ways to pay it back.”

“I came down on him hard,” Boyarkin added. Less than two weeks before Trump accepted the Republican nomination, Manafort offered in emails to a middleman, his former business associate Konstantin Kilimnik, to brief Deripaska on the 2016 presidential race, The Washington Post and The Atlantic reported last year. In the emails, Kilimnik wrote to Manafort about an associate “our friend V” with ties to Deripaska, The Atlantic reported. According to Time, Boyarkin was the “friend.”

A spokesman for Manafort declined to comment to CNN on Time’s report.

The alleged connection shows the leverage that powerful Russians had over Manafort at the time he was Trump’s campaign chair between May and August of 2016, Time noted. Boyarkin also told Time that he has been approached by special counsel Robert Mueller’s office, which is investigating ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia, but he told investigators “to go dig a ditch.”

Special counsel spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment to Time.

Both Boyarkin and Deripaska, meanwhile, have been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.

In its December 19 announcement of new Russia sanctions, the Treasury Department referred to Boyarkin as “a former GRU officer who reports directly to Deripaska and has led business negotiations on Deripaska’s behalf.” The GRU is Russia’s military intelligence agency.

 

Manafort pressured by Russians to pay back debt

Paul Manafort was pressured by a former Russian associate to pay back millions he owed during the time he was running Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign, according to a new report from Time magazine. Former Russian intelligence officer Victor Boyarkin was in touch with Manafort during the 2016 US presidential campaign on behalf of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who has close ties to the Kremlin, the magazine reported Saturday. Boyarkin told Time magazine that he contacted Manafort to collect the debt he owed to Deripaska. He owed us a lot of money, Boyarkin told Time this past fall. And he was offering ways to pay it back. I came down on him hard, Boyarkin added. Less than two weeks before Trump accepted the Republican nomination, Manafort offered in emails to a middleman, his former business associate Konstantin Kilimnik, to brief Deripaska on the 2016 presidential race, The Washington Post and The Atlantic reported last year. In the emails, Kilimnik wrote to Manafort about an associate our friend V with ties to Deripaska, The Atlantic reported. According to Time, Boyarkin was the friend. A spokesman for Manafort declined to comment to CNN on Times report. The alleged connection shows the leverage that powerful Russians had over Manafort at the time he was Trumps campaign chair between May and August of 2016, Time noted. Boyarkin also told Time that he has been approached by special counsel Robert Muellers office, which is investigating ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia, but he told investigators to go dig a ditch. Special counsel spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment to Time. Both Boyarkin and Deripaska, meanwhile, have been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department. In its December 19 announcement of new Russia sanctions, the Treasury Department referred to Boyarkin as a former GRU officer who reports directly to Deripaska and has led business negotiations on Deripaskas behalf. The GRU is Russias military intelligence agency.