Law Firm Linked to Manafort Settles US Foreign Agent Violations 

Law Firm Linked to Manafort Settles US Foreign Agent Violations

WASHINGTON —

A prominent New York law firm whose work for Ukraine came under scrutiny in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe reached a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, acknowledging it should have should have
registered as a foreign agent for that work and agreeing to turn
over $4.6 million in fees, the department said Thursday.

The law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, reached the settlement over its role in producing a 2012 report on the trial of Ukraine's former prime minister.

The Justice Department said a partner at Skadden Arps in 2012 and 2013 had provided "false and misleading" statements about its work on the report, masking the true nature of its client and how the law firm was paid.

The report involved President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who has been prosecuted by Mueller in part for his undisclosed lobbying work for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine.

"The civil settlement announced today brings the firm closure with the U.S. government regarding issues relating to a report we produced for the government of Ukraine in 2012," Skadden Arps said in a statement. "We have learned much from this incident and are taking steps to prevent anything similar from happening again."

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