Paul Manafort has been branded a “shrewd” liar by prosecutors as they sought to build a picture of a multimillion dollar conspiracy to evade US tax laws by Donald Trump’s former campaign manager during the first day of his criminal trial.

Assistant US attorney Uzo Asonye painted a picture of Mr Manafort’s lavish lifestyle, alleging in a Virginia court that money funnelled through 30 offshore accounts was used to buy items including a $21,000 watch and a $15,000 ostrich jacket, telling the jury that Mr Manafort considered himself “above the law”.