<sod >Â  Mr Manafort has groomed Mr Gates for several years and the pair have been connected through documents of companies Mr Manafort had established in Cyprus in order to receive payments from his Eastern European business and political clients, according to the New York Times.< eod>< sod > Â  Mr Manafort has groomed Mr Gates for several years and the pair have been connected through documents of companies Mr Manafort had established in Cyprus, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Seychelles in order to receive payments from his Eastern European business and political clients, according to the New York Times.< eod>