Who is ‘Source D’? The man said to be behind the Trump-Russia dossier’s most salacious claim.




WASHINGTON POST



-- In the years he spent building his real estate brand, Trump, his company, and his partners repeatedly turned to wealthy Russians and oligarchs from former Soviet Republics – several of whom were reportedly connected to organized crime. USA Today's Oren Dorell reports: “The president and his companies have been linked to at least 10 wealthy former Soviet businessmen with alleged ties to criminal organizations or money laundering.” Among them:

• “A member of the firm that developed the Trump SoHo Hotel in New York is a twice-convicted felon who spent a year in prison for stabbing a man and later scouted for Trump investments in Russia.” An investor in the same project was accused by Belgian authorities in 2011 in a $55 million money-laundering scheme.
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• “Three owners of Trump condos in Florida and Manhattan were accused in federal indictments of belonging to a Russian-American organized crime group and working for a major international crime boss based in Russia.”
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• “A Ukrainian owner of two Trump condos in Florida was indicted in a money-laundering scheme involving a former prime minister of Ukraine.”
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• In 2008, Donald Trump Jr. told Russian state media, while in Moscow, that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross section of a lot of our assets.” And New York City real estate broker Dolly Lenz said she sold about 65 “Trump World” condos to Russian investors, many of whom sought meetings with Trump. “They all wanted to meet Donald,” she said. “They became very friendly.”

MORE BAD HEADLINES FOR PAUL MANAFORT

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-- A Cyprus bank investigated accounts associated with the former Trump campaign chairman after the transactions raised red flags of possible money-laundering. NBC News reports: “Manafort — whose ties to a Russian oligarch close to Vladimir Putin are under scrutiny — was associated with at least 15 bank accounts and 10 companies on Cyprus, dating back to 2007 ... At least one of those companies was used to receive millions of dollars from a billionaire Putin ally, according to court documents. Banking sources said some transactions on Manafort-associated accounts raised sufficient concern to trigger an internal investigation at a Cypriot bank into potential money laundering activities. After questions were raised, Manafort closed the accounts." Offshore banking is not illegal, and the island has long been known as a hub for moving money in and out of Russia. A spokesman for Manafort defended his accounts, saying they were set up at behest of clients in Cyprus “for a legitimate business purpose.” "All were legitimate entities and established for lawful ends," the spokesman said.

-- Manafort also spent the past decade engaging in a series of puzzling real estate deals in New York. WNYC reports: “Between 2006 and 2013, Manafort bought three homes in New York City, paying the full amount each time, so there was no mortgage. Then, between April 2015 and January 2017 – a time span that included his service with the Trump campaign – Manafort borrowed about $12 million against those three New York City homes: one in Trump Tower, one in Soho, and one in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. Manafort’s New York City transactions follow a pattern: Using shell companies, he purchased the homes in all-cash deals, then transferred the properties into his own name for no money and then took out hefty mortgages against them …. Real estate and law enforcement experts say some of these transactions fit a pattern used in money laundering; together, they raise questions about Manafort’s activities in the New York City property market while he also was consulting for business and political leaders in the former Soviet Union.”