EXCLUSIVE Erik Prince's Russian Connection Trawled Trumpland for 'Boss' Putin
Source: The Daily Beast
In the days after the 2016 election, a well-connected Moscow executive started pitching Trump associates on a bold plan for renewed U.S.-Russian cooperation.
Betsy Woodruff, Erin Banco
10.03.18 9:01 PM ET
That now-infamous meeting in the Seychelles with Trumpworld associate Erik Prince was a single strand of a broader campaign. In the days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, an ally of Vladimir Putin’s reached out to at least three additional individuals in close contact with the Trump transition team, according to materials reviewed by The Daily Beast.
“We want to start rebuilding the relationship in whatever is a comfortable pace for them. We understand all of the sensitivities and are not in a rush,” according to a November 9, 2016 communication from Kirill Dmitriev, the head of one of Russia’s sovereign wealth funds. That communication was sent to George Nader, the Lebanese-American businessman who helped broker the meeting between Dmitriev and Prince in the Seychelles, and forwarded on to third parties. Nader is cooperating with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of foreign influence in the American political system.
“I am at their disposal to discuss things anytime as I think that we can be helpful in guiding this relationship understanding each of the sides well 
,” Dmitriev’s communication continued. “My boss sends his warmest greetings and I will see him again early next week.” Dmitriev and Russian President Vladimir Putin both attended a financial summit in Lima, Peru the following week.
It’s unclear from communications reviewed by The Daily Beast if Dmitriev was representing himself as the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). RDIF in past statements to The Daily Beast has categorically denied that the fund is influenced by the Kremlin or President Putin. International businessmen, too, told The Daily Beast that they view the fund as a purely financial institution that has gained notoriety for successful investment deals.
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