Manafort’s Banker Found Guilty of Bribery and Conspiracy Over Loans Used to Curry Favor with Trump Admin – By Colin Kalmbacher (Law and Crime) / July 13 2021
A banker connected to former Trump 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted of multiple financial corruption and bribery-related offenses by a jury in Manhattan on Tuesday.
In May 2019, Federal Savings Bank CEO Stephen Calk, 54, was charged with one count of financial institution bribery for using his senior position at the bank to try and secure a position in the Trump administration — by approving some $16 million worth of loans to Manafort. A superseding indictment later added a conspiracy charge.
“A unanimous jury convicted Stephen M. Calk of approving millions of dollars in high-risk loans to Paul Manafort in an effort to secure a personal benefit, namely a high-profile spot on the presidential campaign and appointment as Secretary of the Army or another similarly high-level position in the incoming presidential administration,” U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss announced in a press release. “Calk used the federally-insured bank he ran as his personal piggybank to try and buy himself prestige and power. Today’s verdict sends the message that corruption at the highest levels of federally regulated financial institutions will be prosecuted by this Office.”
According to federal prosecutors, Calk sent Manafort a “ranked list” of positions in the government that he would be happy to accept — all while Manafort’s loans were pending approval. That list included 10 executive branch positions that started with Secretary of the Treasury and included Secretary of Defense. Calk also had 19 overseas ambassadorships on his mind — beginning with the United Kingdom and followed by France, Germany and Italy (in that order). (The U.K. perch is considered quite cushy in foreign policy circles considering the country’s close allegiance with the United States; however, the Scandinavian countries, Luxembourg, and various Caribbean islands are considered the top prizes.)
