Russian oligarch linked to Putin says he interfered in US elections

A Russian oligarch with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he interfered in U.S. elections, despite past denials, and vowed to do so again.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, called “Putin’s chef” due to his catering contracts with the Russian government, went back on repeated claims that he had not interfered with U.S. elections, saying he interfered “surgically.”

“We have interfered, are interfering and will continue to interfere,” Prigozhin said in comments posted to social media on the eve of the elections, The Associated Press reported. “Carefully, precisely, surgically and in our own way.”

The businessman said that “During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once,” adding that he would “allow a certain ambiguity” in his comments and choosing not to elaborate on the surgical metaphor.

Prigozhin is the Russian financier behind the St. Petersburg-based “troll farm” previously known as the Internet Research Agency. The Treasury Department sanctioned Prigozhin, along with the three companies he owns, in March for his attempts to interfere with elections.

“Prigozhin directs the generation of content to denigrate the U.S. electoral process and funds Russian interference efforts while also attempting to evade sanctions by standing up front and shell companies both in and outside of Russia,” the department said at the time, with assets and property owned by the businessman in the U.S. frozen or cut off from use.