Korean firm tied to Trump lawyer got US contract despite corruption probe: report

A South Korean firm that hired President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, did not disclose a corruption investigation when it won a contract with the U.S. military last year, The Washington Post reported.

Nine current and former executives at Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) were indicted last October in Seoul on multiple charges including bribery, embezzlement and defrauding the South Korean government, the Post noted.

{mosads}Two weeks later, however, the company passed a business integrity review by the U.S. Air Force and was awarded a contract worth $48 million, it added.

Experts told the newspaper that the criminal case against the executives should have led to more scrutiny of KAI. The Post found that the firm did not change any filings to show that its executives were under indictment, however, as required.

Cohen worked as a consultant for KAI for six months, according to the Post, which added that he was employed there when its executives were indicted and when the firm won the U.S. contract.

KAI said Cohen was not involved in winning the contract.

The firm has said that it paid Cohen’s firm for accounting advice. It did not respond to the Post’s questions about the nature of Cohen’s work or KAI’s failure to disclose the investigation.