Paul Manafort's deputy Rick Gates admits he had a mistress, bought her a London apartment, stole millions from his boss - and may have embezzled from TRUMP'S inauguration funds
Paul Manafort's long-time deputy testified for second day at his former boss's fraud trial in Alexandria, VA and came under fierce fire from the defense
Rick Gates admitted he had lied repeatedly about his own conduct to Robert Mueller's special counsel probe before making a plea bargain
He admitted he had a mistress whom he had bought a London apartment and admitted that he had stolen millions from Manafort himself
Woman was unnamed but Gates is a married father of four
He earlier told prosecutors that he said Manafort and he set up a network of offshore shell companies and bank accounts to hide income from the IRS
The two put millions into the Cyprus accounts and disguised income as loans to cut taxes but the cash dried up when the politician they worked for was toppled
Cash-strapped Manafort wrote 'WTF' when he saw how much tax he owed and ordered Gates to bring down the bill illegally, Gates testified
By Alana Goodman For Dailymail.com
Published: 12:38 EDT, 7 August 2018 | Updated: 16:53 EDT, 7 August 2018
Paul Manafort's former deputy Rick Gates admitted to using offshore bank accounts to pay for a secret extramarital affair, including providing a London apartment for his mistress and luxury trips through Europe, during Manafort's tax and bank fraud trial on Tuesday afternoon.
Manafort's defense attorneys accused Gates of embezzling money from the former Trump campaign chairman to fund his 'secret life' and overseas mistress during an explosive exchange at the trial on Tuesday.
Gates also told the court he might have stolen money from the Trump inauguration committee while he was a staffer there after the election.
Gates, a 46-year-old married father of four and the government's key witness in the case, appeared to wither under cross examination from Manafort's attorneys, twitching and fumbling with his words when questioned about what the defense described as his 'secret life.'
'I acknowledge I had a period of time when I had another relationship,' admitted Gates. The woman was not named.
He acknowledged that as part of this relationship he purchased a 'flat in London' and flights to Ukraine, using money from foreign accounts that the defense says Gates stole from Manafort.
Gates acknowledged he also paid for 'fancy hotels' and 'trips to Europe' with around $2.5 million the defense claimed he embezzled.
He said he also used money to travel to Las Vegas for an unrelated work meeting with a movie producer, which he admitted could be considered embezzlement.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6036143/Rick-Gates-says-Paul-Manafort-set-offshore-banking-network.html
