Manafort is currently out on an unsecured $10 million-dollar bail that requires him to remain under house arrest and to wear a GPS monitoring device. Defense attorneys are attempting to work out a secured bail arrangement with the court by pledging $4.5 million worth of life insurance policies and a portfolio of real estate that includes the Fifth Avenue apartment at Trump Towers. He hopes to gain the right to travel between New York, Florida, and Washington D.C. He also wants the GPS device requirement removed.
Special Counsel Mueller’s prosecutorial team is pushing back saying that some of the assets being pledged could be subject to forfeiture if Manafort is convicted. Prosecutors are also taking the stance that he is a potential flight risk.
The defense team says Manafort is not a flight risk because many of his accounts are frozen and the charges have made him a highly recognizable person. The prosecution counters that his offshore financial contacts could easily channel funds to enable him to flee to a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. A federal judge is set to make a ruling this week.
