Manafort forfeits US$22m in New York real estate in plea deal

New York

PAUL Manafort, US President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, will forfeit an estimated US$22 million worth of real estate in New York - including three Manhattan apartments, a Brooklyn town house and a home in the Hamptons - as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors announced last Friday.

Under the terms of the deal, Manafort agreed to tell all he knows to special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

The 69-year-old Manafort said he would turn over to the government the five properties in New York, including an apartment in Trump Tower, as well as the contents of three bank accounts and his life insurance policy.

Two of the Manhattan apartments, in SoHo, are estimated to be worth US$3.2 million and US$4.1 million, according to an estimate by Zillow, the online real estate company.

His apartment in Trump Tower in Manhattan has an estimated value of US$3 million.

The most valuable real estate he has agreed to give up is his home in the Hamptons, which is estimated to be worth US$7.3 million, according to Zillow. The website said the two-storey, 5,600-square-foot house in Water Mill has 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and tennis court.

The brownstone town house in the upscale neighbourhood of Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn is estimated to be worth US$4.1 million.

In Manafort's trial in Virginia, prosecutors highlighted his lavish lifestyle, including presenting evidence that he wired millions of dollars from secret overseas bank accounts to buy and renovate homes in places such as the Hamptons and suburban Washington.

Under the agreement, announced at a federal court hearing in Washington, Manafort was charged with two counts of conspiracy that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

He originally faced seven charges brought by the special counsel, including obstruction of justice, failure to register as a foreign agent and conspiracy to launder money.

He was convicted last month in a Virginia federal court of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account.

The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 10 counts, and the judge declared a mistrial on those charges.

According to court documents, Manafort negotiated to give up his SoHo apartment on Baxter Street for his house in Arlington, Virginia, which prosecutors considered for the forfeiture deal. The house in Virginia is estimated to be worth US$1.7 million.

He also gave up his Trump Tower apartment so he could retain another bank account, the plea deal said. NYTIMES