REUTERS
Months after Russia annexed Crimea, former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's political advisor Paul Manafort returned to Ukraine to advise the pro-Russian party, the "Opposition Bloc", for the 2014 parliamentary campaign, according to Bloomberg.
Nestor Shufrych, one of the party leaders, says Manafort pushed for them to appeal as both the anti-NATO political force and the 'voice of Russians' in the east. Shufrych thought they had no chance but they got nearly 10%, with 29 seats, Bloomberg wrote.
Manafort personally approved the list of candidates, according to another party official.
Read alsoManafort falsified invoice to Belize company to legitimize Yanukovych's $750,000 payment to himself – Ukrainian MPShufrych says the party paid Manafort roughly $1 million. The two celebrated over a bottle of cognac at Manafort's Kyiv office.
"The investment in Manafort paid off," he said. "He's a genius."
UNIAN memo. According to the investigation by The New York Times, former head of Trump campaign Manafort could receive $12.7 million from the "black ledgers" of the Party of Regions, at the times of his cooperation with Viktor Yanukovych. Before joining Trump's election campaign, Manafort's most prominent client was ex-President of Ukraine Vitkor Yanukovych. Manafort played the role of political adviser and advisor, eventually helped the Party of Regions and Yanukovych win several election campaigns in Ukraine.