The spy charged with acting as an unregistered agent of Russia, Maria Butina, is connected to a Russian billionaire with U.S. investments in energy and technology, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
These ties came through the Russian gun-rights group Right to Bear Arms started by Butina and supported financially by billionaire Konstantin Nikolaev, according to testimony given by Butina to Senate Intelligence Committee investigators in April, per the Post.
"Mr. Nikolaev has no connections to the Russian government other than those that are strictly required professionally," Nikolaev's spokesman told the Post under the condition of anonymity.
The ties were cited by U.S. prosecutors to argue Butina should not be released from jail while she awaits trial, because "ties to the Russian oligarchy" give her access to wealthy Russians who would offer "safe harbor" from U.S. prosecution.
Butina was charged in last week with acting as an unregistered agent and ordered held without bond. She faces five years in prison.
While Russia has proclaimed her innocence and promoted the hashtag #freeMariaButina, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed her case with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call Saturday, per the Post.
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