US prosecutor says Lev Parnas received $1M from Ukrainian oligarch’s lawyer

Prosecutors have said that Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who has been charged with campaign finance violations, was paid $1 million by a Ukrainian oligarch’s lawyer.

According to Reuters, prosecutors previously accused Parnas of hiding information regarding his finances, including the September payment from a Russian account. Parnas has denied concealing the payment.

U.S. Attorney Rebekah Donaleski said Tuesday that a lawyer for oligarch Dmytro Firtash, who is facing criminal charges in the U.S., was behind the payment, according to the wire service.

A lawyer for Parnas has said that the money was a loan for Parnas’s wife, Svetlana, so that they could buy a home, according to CNBC.

Prosecutors have said that Parnas’s bail should be revoked because he hid the payment. Federal judge Paul Oetken denied prosecutors’ request to revoke Parnas’s $1 million release bond.

“I think the strict conditions that exist [for bail] are appropriate,” Oetken, an Obama appointee, reportedly said.

Parnas and fellow Giuliani associate Igor Fruman were arrested in October and accused of campaign finance violations. They are accused of illegally funneling money to Republican committees, including a $325,000 contribution to pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.

They have pleaded not guilty and Parnas has been on house arrest, according to Reuters.