MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The newspaper said Gates was tied to oligarchs in Russia and Ukraine through Manafort, who was listed as his business partner in several lawsuits relating to that period.
Manafort reportedly helped Russian political interests abroad while working for Deripaska’s aluminum firm Rusal in the 2000s. Manafort denied the allegations, saying he only represented the oligarch’s business interests where he had investments.
In a short interview with the Washington Post, Gates said his work focused on "supporting the private equity fund started by the firm and democracy building and party building in Ukraine."
According to the outlet, Deripaska sued Gates and Manafort in 2014 on accusations they took up to $19 million in funds earmarked for investments and never accounted for them or responded to inquiries on how the money was used. Another lawsuit, filed against them by Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash in 2014, was dismissed.
