mr. trump and mr. cohen 's company , essential consultants , and said special counsel robert mueller had inquired about the arrangement in november .
viktor vekselberg , chairman of asset manager renova group , is an oligarch close to vladimir putin , and last month the trump administration placed him on a list of sanctioned russians for activities including election interference .
at&t also file - in this thursday , april 26 , 2018 , file photo , michael avenatti , stormy daniels ' attorney , talks to reporters outside of federal court in new york .
( seth wenig ap ) president trump ’s personal attorney michael cohen was hired last year by the u.s.-based affiliate of a russian billionaire with close ties to russian president vladi­mir putin .
lawyer michael avenatti also said hundreds of thousands of dollars streamed into cohen 's account from companies , including pharmaceutical giant novartis , at&t and korea aerospace , with u.s. government business interests .
daniels ' attorney , michael avenatti , also detailed other transactions he said were suspicious , including deposits from drug giant novartis , the state - run korea aerospace industries , and at&t.
updated by sarah fitzpatrick , tracy connor , tom winter and ben collins stormy daniels ' lawyer michael cohen received $ 500,000 from a company associated with a russian oligarch , deposited into an account for a company also used to pay off the adult film actress .
the purpose of the payments , which predate the sanctions , and the nature of the business relationship between vekselberg and cohen is unclear .
” though columbus nova has been described in federal regulatory filings as an affiliate made to president donald trump 's personal attorney , michael cohen , after the election , according to a source familiar with the matter .