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Trump’s ex-campaign manager, Manafort charged with tax fraud

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Paul Manafort has been accused of tax fraud during his dealings in Ukraine

Donald Trump’s former presidential campaign manager, Paul Manafort, has been charged with conspiring to defraud the US in his dealings with Ukraine.

The 12 charges brought against Mr Manafort and one of his business associates, Rick Gates, include conspiracy to launder money.

They are the first charges in an inquiry into alleged Russian meddling in the US presidential election.

Mr Manafort and his lawyer have arrived at an FBI office in Washington.

An investigation headed by special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into any links between Russia and the Trump campaign.

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Both sides deny any collusion.

The indictment against the two men looks at their links to pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine between 2006 and 2015.

Mr Mueller’s team is known to have conducted extensive interviews with several current and former White House officials as part of the inquiry.

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Mr Gates has been ordered to surrender to authorities, according to US media reports.

Mr Manafort, 68, has worked on several Republican presidential campaigns, beginning with Gerald Ford’s in 1976.

He resigned as chairman of the Trump campaign in August 2016 after being accused over his dealings with pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

He denies any wrongdoing.

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Mr Manafort was also present at a meeting in June of last year with a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information on Mr Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton.

US intelligence agencies have already concluded that the Russian government sought to help Mr Trump win the election.

But President Trump has strenuously rejected allegations of collusion, calling the investigation a “witch hunt”.

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