Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted Monday that he had interfered in the US elections and that he would continue to do so.
We are interfering and will continue to do so. Prigozhin said in remarks posted on social media that they were carefully, precisely, and in their own way.
The press service of his company that earned him the nickname "Putin's chef" issued a statement on the eve of the election.
It was the second admission by the 61-year-old businessman who has ties to the Russian president. Prigozhin had previously sought to keep his activities under the radar, but now seems to be interested in gaining political clout.
In September, he publicly stated that he was behind theWagner Group mercenary force, something he had previously denied, and talked openly about its involvement in Russia's 8-month-old war inUkraine. The military contractor has sent troops to places like Syria.
The man in the video is visiting Russian prisons to get prisoners to fight in Ukraine.
Prigozhin and a dozen other Russian nationals and three Russian companies were charged in the U.S. with operating a covert social media campaign aimed at fomenting discord and dividing American public opinion ahead of the 2016 presidential election. They were indicted as part of the investigation.
The Justice Department moved to dismiss charges against two of the indicted firms, saying a trial against a corporate defendant with no presence in the US would likely expose sensitive law.
The State Department offered a $10 million reward for information about Russian interference in the US elections.
Until now, Prigozhin had denied involvement.
Russian media, prisoner's rights groups and relatives of prisoners reported an extensive effort by Prigozhin and others to recruit convicts to fight inUkraine. Prigozhin said in a statement that either the private military company or the convicts will fight on the front lines.
Prigozhin has described the business center as a platform to increase the defense capabilities of Russia.
The creation of training centers for militias in Russia's Belgorod andKursk regions that border Ukraine was announced through the Concord press service.
He said that a local resident is able to fight against sabotage groups and take the first blow if needed.
The owner of a hot dog stand opened a fancy restaurant that caught the attention of Putin. Putin took Chirac to dine at one of his restaurants.
In an interview published in 2011, Prigozhin said that he doesn't mind serving to guests because they were his guests.
His businesses grew much larger. In 2010 Putin attended the opening of a factory that made school lunches with generous loans from a state bank. Concord won millions of dollars in contacts to provide meals in Moscow. Catering has been provided to the Russian military by Prigozhin.
When fighting broke out in eastern Ukraine, Prigozhin said he wanted to put together a group of fighters to defend the Russians.
Russian laws don't allow the operation of private military contractors, but state media have reported on his involvement in Ukraine.
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