Maloni claimed Manafort may register as a foreign agent retroactively regarding work that is publicly known "and was not conducted on behalf of the Russian government".
The Associated Press says it's confirmed that the same amount was received by Manafort's consulting firm in the U.S. Last summer, Manafort's name appeared in a so-called black ledger allegedly detailing Yanukovych's secret cash payments to political allies.
Manafort reportedly led lobbying efforts on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, a front group for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, in the United States from 2010 to 2014.
Manafort through a spokesman called the story "totally misleading and incorrect", according to CBS, and Manafort told the AP they were "legitimate payments" for consulting work.
Federal prosecutors have been looking into Manafort's work for years as part of an effort to recover Ukrainian assets stolen after the 2014 ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russian Federation.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn might have kept his involvement with the government of Turkey under wraps while on the Trump team.
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Failing to register is considered a crime, but the department rarely prosecutes such violations of the Foreign Agent Registration Act. It's clear enough why a government would want to keep track of such people ― being paid to advance foreign interests could leave someone susceptible to harming American ones, and when you're talking about somebody running the presidential campaign of the eventual winning candidate, the concern starts to make a lot of sense.
Manafort has maintained his innocence and has said repeatedly that he has done nothing improper.
The Associated Press last fall reported that Manafort's firm - DMP International, which was advising to Yanukovych at the time - introduced Mercury and Podesta Group to the Centre and helped direct some of the lobbying strategy. One of his major clients in recent years had been the Russia-friendly Ukrainian political party whose ouster from power set off the Russian invasion of Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Following the exit, the company received $13 million in loans from two businesses with major ties to Trump, a bombshell report by The New York Times reveals. President Donald Trump pressured Manafort to resign as his presidential campaign chairman immediately after AP's reporting. Asked by the AP whether Manafort intends to register as a foreign agent, Maloni said, "Yes, he is registering".
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is still investigating any ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, according to Vox.
Manafort's relationship to Yanukovych is controversial because the former Ukrainian president's close relationship to Moscow was the reason for his own downfall.
Manafort acknowledged the payments, but suggested they were legal because they were not made in cash.
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