Prosecutors in the trial against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE on Monday called for Manafort's former deputy and longtime business associate, Richard Gates, to take the stand, according to multiple reports.

Gates, who is being viewed as the star witness for the prosecution, served in a key role in Manfort's consulting business and was also Manafort's deputy on the Trump campaign.

His testimony comes as Manafort faces 18 counts of bank and tax fraud. In addition, Manafort faces allegations that he laundered $30 million from work on behalf of pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians and that he hid money overseas in unreported foreign accounts to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

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Gates pleaded guilty in February as part of a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller. He was charged with one count of conspiracy against the U.S. and one count of making a false statement to the FBI. In addition, Gates was charged with lying to federal investigators about a 2013 meeting involving Manafort, an unnamed member of Congress and a lobbyist to discuss Ukraine.

His testimony came after a brief period of confusion regarding whether he'd take the stand on Monday. Many reports surfaced that the government ended up instead calling on Treasury expert Paula Liss, who deals with suspicious transaction reports.

However, just moments later, multiple outlets confirmed that Gates would testify.

Prosecutors last week said they had "every intention" of bringing Gates to the stand after Assistant U.S. Attorney Uzo Asonye initially cast doubt on whether he would testify.

Gates' testimony comes about a week after Manafort's attorneys alleged that he was the real culprit of fraud and that he embezzled from his former boss.

“Gates had his hand in the cookie jar,” Defense attorney Thomas Zehnle said during his 30-minute opening statement.