Igor Fruman says he made $300,000 in political donations to ‘jump-start his business’

Igor Fruman, the Russian-born Florida businessman who was an associate of President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, said that he funneled more than $300,000 in political donations onto his company’s credit cards in an attempt to jump-start a new business, CNN reports.

Fruman’s comments reportedly came during a July 17, 2018, divorce hearing in Miami. At the time, Fruman claimed that he needed the money because his New York-based company FD Import & Export was going out of business and needed to advance a new business so that his family wouldn’t “drown.”

His comments shed more light on the finances of Fruman and his business partner Lev Parnas. In May 2017, Fruman and Parnas, both associates of Giuliani, started funneling money into U.S. political campaigns for their own financial interests and for the political interests of at least one Ukrainian official. 

In October, the pair plead not guilty to campaign finance violations after they were arrested earlier in the month at Dulles International Airport waiting to board a flight out of the country with one-way tickets.

Parts of Fruman’s divorce hearing testimony contradicts his recent testimony.

According to the network, earlier this month, prosecutors stated that $21 million passed through FD Import & Export in the past three years and that Fruman failed to disclose considerable financial resources.

An attorney for Fruman didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment.