A Saudi manufacturing tycoon attempted to donate $850,000 to former President Barack Obama’s inauguration through Imaad Zuberi, who has raised funds for numerous American politicians.
Sheikh Mohammed Al Rahbani gave Zuberi $850,000 to donate to Obama’s inauguration, a transaction illegal under U.S. law. Zuberi actually donated about $97,500 of Rahbani’s money to the inauguration and took the rest for himself, according to the Associated Press.
Zuberi has donated large sums of money to American political campaigns and organizations across the political spectrum, from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Zuberi also donated about $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee.
The middleman pleaded guilty in October to making illegal campaign donations using foreign money. Prosecutors in Zuberi’s case did not allege that any campaigns the received money from Zuberi were aware of where the money came from.
