Federal prosecutors in New York are reportedly investigating whether Rudy Giuliani, President Trumpâs personal attorney, stood to profit from a proposed pipeline to carry United States natural gas to Ukraine pushed by two of his associates.
Businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman worked with Giuliani to push allegations that former Vice President Joe Biden withheld U.S. loan guarantees from Ukraine to stop government prosecutors from investigating the energy company Burisma, which Biden’s son Hunter Biden sat on the board of during his father’s time in office.
Parnas and Fruman also lobbied Ukraine government officials to back a pipeline project proposed by their company Global Energy Producers, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. The project involved constructing a pipeline between Poland and Ukraine to carry U.S. natural gas to Ukraine. The pair claimed the project had the backing of the U.S. government and told some officials Giuliani was a partner.
Federal prosecutors are now attempting to determine whether Giuliani broke U.S. lobbying laws.
Giuliani denied any involvement in the proposed project and said that he is unaware of any such federal investigation.
“I have no personal interest in any business in Ukraine, including that business,” Giuliani said in a statement. “If they really want to know if Iâm a partner, why donât they ask me?”
Parnas and Fruman were arrested and charged last month for serving as middlemen to funnel foreign campaign donations to American politicians in an international money laundering scheme. They have both pleaded not guilty.
