Court Debates Using Shell Companies to Mask Political Donations

Date
Publication
Bloomberg Government

A federal appeals court panel on Friday heard arguments over the use of shell companies to hide donations in a case that could affect super PAC disclosure in the 2020 election. U Earlier this year, two Ukrainian Americans, Igor Fruman and Lev Parnas, were arrested and charged by federal prosecutors with illegally funneling $325,000 in 2018 to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action through a company called Global Energy Partners LLC. The criminal case brought by the Justice Department followed an FEC complaint filed by the nonprofit watchdog Campaign Legal Center, which had also protested the hidden donors to the Romney and Obama super PACs in 2012.

Read the full story here