The US authorities accused Stephen Bannon of fraud and embezzlement of funds.
The New York Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into Stephen Bannon, a former adviser to former US President Donald Trump. This was reported on Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources.
On the last day of his presidential term, which ended on January 20, Trump signed an executive order pardoning 73 people, including 66-year-old Bannon, whom the US authorities accused of fraud and embezzlement of funds. On August 20 last year, Bannon himself, 38-year-old Brian Kolfage, 56-year-old Andrew Badolato, and 49-year-old Timothy Shea were taken into custody. They were charged with embezzling large funds from more than 25 million voluntary donations collected by the non-profit organization We Build the Wall.
The newspaper points out that the new investigation, which is at an early stage, was launched at the prosecutor’s initiative of the US District of New York, Cyrus Vance. Simultaneously, it is not specified whether it concerns the previous charges or it is a new case. According to The Wall Street Journal sources, the authorities are interested in a possible violation of Bannon’s New York state law.
Bannon, in 2016 held one of the key positions in the campaign headquarters of Donald Trump. He was later appointed to the post of chief White House strategist. However, in August 2017, Bannon decided to step down. The media then claimed that his relationship with Trump was seriously complicated. Bannon has previously expressed support for right-wing and far-right associations.
