stay quiet about an alleged affair with donald trump, russian oligarch paid $500,000 to essential consultants, that s michael cohen s company. avenatti says the 500,000 might have been used to reimburse him for the $130,000 he paid stormy daniels, but the $500,000 actually came from an american company called columbus nova. it is true their biggest client is at a company controlled by victor but columbus nova says after the inauguration the firm hired michael cohen as a bigness consultant regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments involving real estate and other ventures. it reports that they used them as a conduit are false. neither victor nor anyone else outside of columbus nova were involved in the decision to hire him or and provided funding for
his engagement. yet tonight on cnn avenatti said family ties are at the heart of the connection between columbus nova and victor luxemburg. you have the ceo, cousin of the russian oligarch, who is also russian. what s the explanation for the half a million dollars worth of payments? the new york times says a few months ago he was stopped at the new york area airport by agents working for robert mueller. he reportedly had his electronic devices searched and was interviewed about the payments to michael cohen. yet while colin is under criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in new york, victor isn t facing charges, nor is he a suspect, but he was among the rich russian businessmen sanctioned by the trump administration. attorney robert barnes thinks avenatti getting illegal