Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Monday accused a Russian tycoon of scheming to make $1 million in unlawful marketing campaign donations to federal and state political candidates in the USA to achieve favorable licensing selections for a hashish enterprise enterprise.

The prosecutors stated the donations by the businessman, Andrey Muraviev, 47, have been on the coronary heart of an unlawful marketing campaign finance scheme carried out within the months earlier than the 2018 midterm elections that additionally concerned two Soviet-born businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, and two different co-defendants.

Mr. Parnas and Mr. Fruman have been allies of Rudolph W. Giuliani, former President Donald J. Trump’s private lawyer, and assisted Mr. Giuliani in his efforts to undermine Joseph R. Biden Jr. when he was a number one Democratic presidential candidate.

The allegations in opposition to Mr. Muraviev will not be new; his identify and alleged position surfaced on the October trial of Mr. Parnas and a co-defendant, Andrey Kukushkin, who have been convicted of conspiring to funnel Mr. Muraviev’s cash to American political candidates to assist their marijuana marketing strategy.

The indictment unsealed on Monday prices Mr. Muraviev with making political donations as a overseas nationwide within the identify of one other particular person, as a so-called straw donor. A second rely accuses him of conspiring to take action.

Mr. Muraviev is believed to be in Russia and stays at massive, the prosecutors stated. Every of the 2 counts in opposition to him carries a most sentence of 5 years in jail, the federal government stated.

“He tried to deprave our political system to advance his enterprise pursuits,” Damian Williams, the U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York, stated in a press release. He stated his workplace was “dedicated to rooting out efforts by foreigners to intervene with our elections.”

Prosecutors additionally stated in a courtroom submitting on Monday that the indictment in opposition to Mr. Muraviev was returned by a federal grand jury in September 2020, they usually gave no rationalization as to why the unsealing of the costs didn’t happen till this week.

The timing of the unsealing of the indictment drew sharp criticism from the lawyer for Mr. Kukushkin, who’s to be sentenced on Tuesday.

The lawyer, Gerald B. Lefcourt — noting in a letter to the courtroom that the federal government information launch saying the costs described Mr. Muraviev as a “Russian oligarch” — accused prosecutors of an “apparent publicity stunt and orchestrated effort to govern Mr. Kukushkin’s sentencing proceedings.”

In a short telephone interview, Mr. Lefcourt stated the federal government had timed the unsealing of the costs “to take advantage of the emotions of concern” in opposition to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in hopes of influencing the decide, J. Paul Oetken, who will sentence Mr. Kukushkin.

Mr. Lefcourt additionally famous that the indictment doesn’t use the phrase “oligarch” to explain Mr. Muraviev however calls him a “Russian citizen and businessman.”

He stated his consumer, Mr. Kukushkin, was from Odessa, Ukraine, “and he’s performing as finest he can to assist Ukrainian refugees and his pals from Odessa, doing the whole lot he can.”

Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the Southern District, declined to touch upon Mr. Lefcourt’s statements.

The costs in opposition to Mr. Muraviev come as the USA and its allies proceed to hunt to punish Russia financially for its conflict on Ukraine. Earlier this month, the Justice Division introduced a brand new job drive to “maintain accountable corrupt Russian oligarchs” who had supported the invasion.