Deripaska says ready to deny Manafort rumors at US Congress

MOSCOW, Mar 28 (PRIME) -- Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska is ready to participate in hearings of the U.S. Congress to deny rumors about his contacts with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort, he said in a statement published in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Deripaska also said that an Associated Press report that Manafort and he signed a U.S. $10 million deal for 2006 to promote the Russian government’s interests was a lie.

He said that he will fight with distribution of false information by all means envisaged by the law.

“I want to vehemently deny this malevolent statement and lie. I have have had nay obligations and signed any deals to promote any interests of the government of (President Vladimit) Putin,” he said.

He also demanded that media stop spreading the untrue information about his connections with Manafourt.

“Any spreading of false accusations regardi8ng my alleged activities by AP or any individual or mass media likewise will entail legal implications.”

Associated Press reported earlier that Manafort used to work for Deripaska to lobby Russian interests in the U.S., Europe and the post-Soviet area.

According to sources of Associated Press, in 2016, Deripaska’s representatives accused Manafort of a fraud and announced plans to recover money from him but after the election of Trump, Deripaska’s representatives said that they will not discuss the case anymore.

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