Even after the money stopped flowing, Manafort and Gates found ways — illegal ways, prosecutors say — to maintain and even improve their lifestyles. With extensive help from Gates, Manafort opened a gusher of spending on personal pleasures, according to the indictment prosecutors filed this week. Over two years, an antique-rug shop in Alexandria collected $934,000 from Manafort’s Cypriot accounts, prosecutors say. As the renovations continued, Manafort took out a $5 million loan, supposedly to pay for the rehabilitation of the house. For more than two years, he rented the place out on Airbnb, charging several thousand dollars a week, prosecutors say.

Source: Washington Post February 24, 2018 00:47 UTC