Russian Oligarch Corrupted 2018 Elections to Infiltrate in US Cannabis Market | Cannabis News Today
In the spring of 2018, MURAVIEV, Kukushkin, Fruman, and Parnas decided to launch a business aimed at acquiring retail cannabis and marijuana licenses in the United States. As part of that plan, MURAVIEV agreed to wire $1 million, through a series of bank accounts, to Fruman and Parnas to fund hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions they had made or promised to make before the elections in November 2018. The purpose of the donations was to curry favor with candidates that might be able to help MURAVIEV and his co-conspirators obtain cannabis and marijuana licenses.
Russian Oligarch Charged by DOJ for Violating Election Laws to Get Cannabis Licenses
In the spring of 2018, a Russian oligarch by the name of MURAVIEV attempted to infiltrate the US cannabis market by making illegal political contributions. This was done in an effort to secure cannabis and marijuana licenses for his business venture. The oligarch was charged with making these contributions, which totaled $1 million. This money was funneled through a series of bank accounts and ultimately went to two US political candidates. The purpose of the donations was to curry favor with these candidates in order to obtain the cannabis licenses that MURAVIEV desired.
While this plan ultimately failed, it highlights the lengths that some people will go to in order to get their hands on a piece of the US cannabis market. With the industry expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, it’s likely that we’ll see more stories like this one emerge.
Other Russians Helped Violated Election Laws to Get Cannabis Licenses
The Russian oligarch was not the only one involved in this scheme – he also enlisted the help of two US citizens, Igor Parnas and David Kukushkin. Parnas and Kukushkin are both naturalized US citizens who were born in Ukraine and Russia, respectively. The two men assisted Muraviev in setting up the bank accounts that would be used to funnel the illegal political contributions. They also helped to connect Muraviev with the two US political candidates who ultimately received the money.
Parnas and Kukushkin have both been charged with conspiracy to violate the federal campaign finance laws. If convicted, they each face up to five years in prison. As for Muraviev, he is currently facing charges of conspiracy, making false statements, and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal. He too faces up to five years in prison if convicted on all counts.
In the spring of 2018, a Russian man named Andrey Muraviev decided he wanted to get involved in the US cannabis market. This is the market for buying and selling marijuana. In order to do this, Andrey made a plan to give money illegally to some political candidates in the United States.
Andrey gave a total of $1 million to two different candidates through a series of bank accounts. He did this in order to try and make these candidates like him more so that he could then get some licenses from them that would allow him to sell cannabis and make money.
Unfortunately for Andrey, his plan didn’t work out and he was charged with breaking some laws. Now he might have to go to prison for up to five years.
Even though this story has a bad ending, it’s still important to know about. It shows that when it comes to the cannabis market, there are people who are willing to break the law in order to make money. This is something that you should be aware of as you enter into this industry.
Please be 21+ because this is about the legal & legitimately lawful (at the state level) cannabis industry.
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