Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings.

Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said Thursday she has filed actions in the state Court of Chancery to dissolve 15 Delaware business entities for what she says is involvement in criminal activities.

"We are proud of Delaware's central role in the business community," Jennings said in a news release. "Maintaining that privilege means that we have to protect it from abuse. Today we are sending a clear message that Delaware will not tolerate or enable those who use the corporate franchise as an instrument of crime, fraud, and deception. We have worked with state and federal partners to identify and hold accountable those who flagrantly used their business entities in criminal enterprise and we will continue to ensure that the advantages of doing business in Delaware are not abused to break the law."

In six complaints filed Thursday, the AG requested cancellation of either the certificate of formation or certificate of incorporation for 15 entities. The cases and links to the complaints are posted on the AG's website.

The first one listed has principals—Paul Manafort and Richard Gates—who pleaded guilty in 2018 to charges involving money laundering, failing to register as a foreign agent, failure to report bank transactions, and making false statements. Manafort was also convicted in 2018 by a jury on tax and bank fraud charges. The AG said the two used six businesses under their control to illegally conceal from the United States government millions of dollars in income received from the Ukrainian government, evading roughly $1.4 million in personal income taxes owed to the IRS while funding lavish personal expenditures.

Manafort attorney Todd Blanche of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft's white-collar defense and investigations group declined to comment on the AG's move. Gates attorney Thomas C. Green of Sidley Austin could not be reached.

State law allows the attorney general to petition for cancellation of an entity's Delaware formation document when its powers, privileges or existence have been abused or misused. Last year, the AG filed under the same law to cancel the certificates of companies associated with a website linked to sex trafficking.

The filings are based on referrals to the AG by the Delaware Department of State for potential dissolution, following the adoption of new regulations in January.