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Manafort, who was convicted in 2018 on tax evasion and bank
fraud charges, was pardoned by Trump in 2020, shortly before he
left office.
"The United States of America brings this action to collect
outstanding civil penalties assessed against Defendant Paul J.
Manafort for his willful failure to timely report his financial
interest in foreign bank accounts," the Justice Department said
in a filing with the U.S. District Court in West Palm Beach,
Florida.
The Justice Department said it was seeking $2,976,350.15.
Manafort's lawyer, Jeffrey Neiman, said in a statement that the
government was seeking a monetary penalty against Manafort "for
simply failing to file a tax form."
"Mr. Manafort was aware the Government was going to file the
suit because he has tried for months to resolve this civil
matter. Nonetheless, the Government insisted on filing this suit
simply to embarrass Mr. Manafort," Neiman said.
In the 2018 conviction on charges of financial wrongdoing,
prosecutors had accused Manafort of hiding from U.S. tax
authorities $16 million he earned as a political consultant for
pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to fund an opulent lifestyle
and then lying to banks to secure $20 million in loans after his
Ukrainian income dried up and he needed cash.
A Republican-led U.S. Senate committee in 2020, in a 966-page
report, concluded that Russia used Manafort, a long-time
Republican political operative, and the WikiLeaks website to try
to help Trump win the 2016 election.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Tim Ahmann
and Leslie Adler)
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