In AML (anti-money laundering) terms IIRC that's called Integration.
Now there's nothing illegal about paying cash for property. I've done it. What raises eyebrows is if there's no traceability as to where that cash came from in the first place.
If Manafort doesn't have a good explanation as to where the money came from or can point to a source of revenue that enabled him to pay cash for the property I'm guessing Mueller will look to nail his ass to the wall.
He was dealing with some..ahem...Interesting characters in the time frame of those transactions.
Notorious..and ruthless.
How can someone who did not break the law, in other words pay cash for a property, be held accountable just because he’s asked where the money came from and he decides it’s none of anybody’s business and refuses to answer the question?
Yet this was way before Trump ever decided to run for president. This investigation is not limiting itself to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Does he really want to open Pandora’s box?
Mueller is WAY OUT OF LINE if he is looking for crimes not associated with the Trump campaign, which didn't even exist before 2015.
DOJ Order 3915-2017 has a clear scope, and it does not include money laundering that predates the Trump campaign.
(b) The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including:(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
(iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. 600.4(a).
Operating outside of this authorization would be grounds for removal, or at least grounds to REJECT any recommendation for prosecution outside of the authorized scope.
Mueller and Rosenstein should be called on to make a public statement regarding reports that Mueller is investigating crimes that happened before the campaign came into existence. Rosenstein is responsible, himself, for the jurisdiction that Mueller takes. Yes, he can defer, but the ultimate decision for limiting the jurisdiction is Rosenstein's, and he exercised that power in DOJ Order 3915-2017.
More likely, Mueller is just trying to gin up some charges he can use to get somebody like Manafort to lie about what happened so he can use it against others. That's a tactic used by dirty prosecutors who lack real evidence. Many times the jailed "witness" recounts their accusations after the trial that convicted an innocent person.
Paying cash for a property up front is a common occurrence and taking out a mortgage afterwards is likely where the money for the next property purchase came from.
In fact, most convertible HELOC agreements include check writing privileges.