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Two men who reportedly have assisted Rudy Giuliani in his efforts to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s family have been arrested and are expected to face charges for allegedly violating campaign finance laws, a federal law enforcement official told ABC News on Thursday.
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The two men were arrested Wednesday night at Dulles International Airport in Virginia, just outside Washington, as they attempted to leave the country, an official said.
Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Soviet-born businessmen based in Florida, were expected to face charges from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Both Parnas and Fruman have been tied to the work done by the president’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, in Ukraine where Giuliani has had significant business interests.
Additionally, for the last year, Giuliani has been investigating Hunter Biden and his financial interests in Ukraine. It was not immediately clear the nature of the charges related to Parnas and Fruman or if the charges have any relation to the work being done by Giuliani.
According to the Associated Press, Parnas and Fruman sought to replace Andriy Kobolyev, the CEO of Naftogaz, a Ukrainian state-owned energy company, with another senior executive at the Ukrainian company, Andrew Favorov. According to the AP, their goal was to partner up with Favorov in a lucrative deal to export up to 100 tanker shipments a year of U.S. liquefied gas to Ukraine.
Aram Roston/Reuters
The two have been major donors to President Donald Trump, making a series of big and small contributions to Trump’s various fundraising vehicles as early as 2016. Their single-biggest contribution — a $325,000 check to pro-Trump super PAC America First Action from last year — was made under the name of their newly established gas company named Global Energy Producers.
The Campaign Legal Center via AP
According to a court document in a separate case filed by an investor in Global Energy Producers, the investor’s legal team wrote that Parnas and Fruman had bragged to him about their close relationships with key allies of the president, including Giuliani, former Trump-aide-turned Washington lobbyist Brian Ballard and Nick Ayers, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.
The Campaign Legal Center via AP
Parnas and Fruman, who have been sent a letter from House Democrats last week requesting documents and deposition, along with Giuliani, recently hired President Trump’s former lawyer John Dowd. Dowd earlier this week announced in a statement that his clients won’t be able to comply with House Democrats’ request for documents and deposition, which are due this week.
Attempts to reach Dowd Thursday for comment were not immediately successful. The news of the arrests was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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