United States: Fundraiser Secretly Lobbied U.S. Officials for Foreign Countries - ethiXbase
United States: Fundraiser Secretly Lobbied U.S. Officials for Foreign Countries - ethiXbase
United States: Fundraiser Secretly Lobbied U.S. Officials for Foreign Countries
A Los Angeles businessman who served as a top fundraiser to U.S. presidents and members of Congress secretly lobbied for years to advance the interests of an array of foreign governments and people, including a Ukrainian oligarch fighting extradition for criminal prosecution in the U.S., according to prosecutors.
Imaad Shah Zuberi funneled millions of dollars in illegal foreign contributions into the campaign accounts of U.S. politicians and hid the source of the funds by making the donations in the name of third parties, prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday. The clients included Saudis, Kuwaitis, a faction of the Libyan government, Sri Lanka and Turkey, as well as Dmitry Firtash, who paid Zuberi $1 million to burnish his image as he has fought U.S. efforts to prosecute him on foreign-bribery charges, according to the filing.
Zuberi’s prosecution comes as the Justice Department has intensified focus on secret foreign influence peddling amid growing concern that U.S. foreign policy has been swayed at times by hidden forces. It has come to a head in the aftermath of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the prosecution of Americans who were secretly working to advance foreign interests, such as Paul Manafort.
The full original article can be found at bnnbloomberg.ca
Comments
Post a Comment