Former Trump aide Manafort jailed for almost 4 years for fraud

A US judge has sentenced Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, to 47 months in prison for financial crimes.

Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is shown in a court room sketch, as he sits in federal court on the opening day of his trial on bank and tax fraud charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the REUTERS/Bill Hennessy

The punishment is far more lenient than federal sentencing guidelines, with prosecutors having asked for between 19.5 and 24 years.

Manafort was also ordered to pay a fine of $50,000 (44,650 euros) and $24 million (21.43 million euros) in restitution following his conviction last August for tax and bank fraud, and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts.

The 69-year-old was found guilty of hiding millions of dollars of income earned through political consulting for Ukraine’s former pro-Russian government.

The activity was uncovered during Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 US elections.

Manafort will also be sentenced in a separate conspiracy case on 13 March.