Lev Parnas found guilty of illegally financing US elections

The businessman was found guilty of violating US federal laws.

Former aide to Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Lev Parnas was found guilty of violating US campaign finance laws in the 2018 elections. The guilty verdict was handed down on October 22. 

According to the prosecution, Parnas, an American businessman of Ukrainian origin, and his former associate Igor Fruman received money from Russian businessman Andrey Muraviev and used it to finance US election campaigns. 

According to US prosecutors, the businessman concealed that he and Fruman, who pleaded guilty in September, made donations to the Republican Action Committee (RAC), which raised funds, in particular, for the presidential campaign of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

Parnas's sentencing is scheduled for January 21, 2022. The plea agreement provides that he could receive a prison term of three years to three years and 10 months. 

Parnas was found guilty of violating US federal laws that prohibit foreigners from participating in election campaigns and bar making party donations in the name of other persons. 

On October 22, Andrey Kukushkin (Muraviev's associate) was also found guilty of violating campaign finance laws. 

Damien Williams
lawyer

A unanimous federal jury found that Lev Parnas and Andrey Kukushkin conspired to manipulate the US political system for their own financial gain. To gain influence over American politicians and candidates, they illegally directed foreign money into the 2018 midterm elections in order to reap huge profits in the cannabis business. 

It is worth noting that Rudy Giuliani, a former prosecutor and former mayor of New York, is not a figure in this criminal case and has not been charged. At the same time, Giuliani is a subject of another investigation being conducted by New York authorities into whether he was required to register as a foreign agent. 

According to US media, Parnas helped Giuliani look for information that could help launch an investigation into Joe Biden's activities in Ukraine. At the time, it was Donald Trump who demanded that an investigation into Biden be launched. 

Parnas's lawyer Joseph Bondy said the defense intends to appeal the verdict. The businessman's lawyers argue that Muraviev's funds were directed to business investments, not campaign contributions. According to them, the donation to a group supporting Trump came from a company founded by Parnas and did not violate US law. 

After the presidential election in Ukraine, which was won by Volodymyr Zelensky, Parnas and Fruman tried to arrange a meeting with him in Kyiv. During the inauguration, they stayed in Kyiv at the Hilton hotel. 

In the spring of 2019, businessmen Fruman and Parnas received police protection in Ukraine in response to a statement that they were threatened with murder by another businessman, Igor Kolomoisky.