26 Mar 2017 12:21 pm
So both 45's Commerce Secretary and his campaign chairman have ties to the Bank of Cyprus, a Russian money laundering haven.AP Exclusive: US probe of ex-Trump aide extends to Cyprus
The U.S. government investigation of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, crossed the Atlantic earlier this year to the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, once known as a haven for money laundering by Russian billionaires.
Treasury agents in recent months obtained information connected to Manafort's transactions from Cypriot authorities, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The request was part of a federal anti-corruption probe into Manafort's work in Eastern Europe.
The Cyprus attorney general, one of the country's top law enforcement officers, was also aware of the American request.
Manafort was Trump's unpaid campaign chairman from March until August last year, during the critical run-up to the Republican National Convention.
He's been a leading focus of the U.S. investigation into whether Trump associates coordinated with Moscow to meddle in the 2016 presidential campaign.
