Delaware Business Now | by Doug Rainey
The indictment against former Trump Presidential Campaign Director Paul Manafort and long-time associate Richard W. Gates lists several companies incorporated in Delaware.
The two men pleaded not guilty a dozen charges in federal court in Washington, D.C.
The indictment against the two men centers on not registering as foreign agents who received tens of millions of dollars from work in Ukraine that included representing a former president of the nation with ties to Russian President Vladamir Putin.
The former leader, Victor Yanukovych, later fled to Russia.
The indictment states that the money was laundered “through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships, and bank accounts. Listed were nine corporate entities incorporated in Delaware.
One of the Delaware entities, DMI, was formed to represent foreign governments, with both Manafort and Gates working for the company.
In all, more than $75 million flowed through offshore accounts, the legal filing stated.
The use of companies incorporated in Delaware by Manafort and Gates is expected to reignite the debate over the lack of information required for the formation of Delaware companies.
Longtime incorporation critics, State Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, again offered his support for a bill that would tighten disclosure rules on incorporated entities. The legislation has gone nowhere in Dover.
The state has argued that it would it would lose incorporation revenues to other states if disclosure laws were changed and suggests a national law.