Russia hits back at FBI claims and dismisses any link to ex-Trump campaign chair Manafort

The Kremlin said it hopes that the US investigation into Putin’s interference in the US election will not cause anti-Russia sentiment in the country.

The FBI has alleged interference in the 2016 US election, which Moscow denies and they charged Mr Manafort and Trump’s ally Rick Gates with money laundering on Monday. 

Manafort was charged with money laundering over £14 million, which the indictment says he obtained illegally from the Ukrainian government and its political leaders from 2006 to 2015.

The country has said that the US charges against Mr Manafort and another aide, Rick Gates, did not link Russia with the alleged meddling in last year’s US election.

The indictment of Manafort shows he spent over £9 million on Range Rovers, men’s clothing, and home improvements in the Hamptons. 

The charges against Mr Manafort, who led the Trump campaign from June to August 2016 and George Papadopoulos, a campaign adviser who was arrested in July, are the most serious legal threat to the president since Mr Mueller was appointed in May. 

Mr Manafort was charged on October 30 with money laundering, conspiracy and tax charges in a 12-count indictment.He allegedly received million of dollars for his work with Ukraine’s pro-Russian Party of Regions in 2012-2013.

Mr Papadopoulos is accused of working with a London academic who have commotions with Putin’s family. 

In July, Trump’s eldest son released email showing that he and other campaign officials met with Russian lobbyists. 

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Mr Putin personally ordered to campaign to undermine “public faith in the US democratic process”. 

Mr Papadopoulos has admitted to pursuing Clinton through people he understood to be connected to the Russian government. 

Mr Trump fired former FBI director James Comey, which has led to allegations that the President could have obstructed justice. 

In April 2016, when the leaders of the Democratic Party asked a cybersecurity firm to investigate suspicious software not their computer, they found digital footprints of hackers linked to the Russian government. 

The latest revelations mark a huge development in the investigation as to whether Russia meddled in Trump’s shock election win – and whether collusion took place between his team and Russia.

Mr Manafort served the Trump campaign from June to August of 2016 before resigning amid reports he may have received millions in illegal payments from a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine.