Image copyright LBC
Arron Banks, who helped fund the Leave.EU Brexit marketing campaign, will face MPs' questions on Tuesday about claims linking him to Russian officers.
He met Russia's UK ambassador thrice in 2015 and 2016, discussing Brexit and Donald Trump's election.
He informed LBC that Leave.EU didn't get Russian cash and such claims had been "part of a fake news narrative".
If there was any tried Russian interference within the 2016 referendum, it was at an "amateur level", he stated.
Since Britain voted to depart the EU in June 2016, questions have been raised concerning the unofficial marketing campaign of Leave.EU and its chief backer Mr Banks, in addition to the potential affect of Russia on the referendum end result.
On Sunday, it emerged that Mr Banks had had two extra conferences with the Russian ambassador Alexander Yakovenko than he had beforehand disclosed in his e book on the referendum battle, The Bad Boys of Brexit.
The final of those was in November 2016, three days after Mr Banks, Leave.EU's communications director Andy Wigmore and the previous UKIP chief Nigel Farage met Mr Trump in New York following his election victory.
As acknowledged by particulars of emails reported by the Sunday Times and the Observer, Mr Banks and Mr Wigmore additionally mentioned potential enterprise alternatives in Russia together with a proposal involving six gold mines.
The two will seem earlier than the Commons tradition and media committee on Tuesday to reply questions on alleged Russian involvement within the EU referendum marketing campaign, having initially pulled out of a listening to on Friday.
M Banks and Mr Wigmore spoke to Mr Farage on his weekly radio present on LBC, the place they informed him that the allegations towards them had been a part of a political witch-hunt directed towards outstanding Brexit supporters.
'No proof'
Referring to claims that the police may very well be requested to examine, Mr Banks stated: "I would love to know what the police are going to examine. Lunch with the Russian ambassador?
"Where is the evidence we took Russian money. There is no evidence."
Asked whether or not the marketing campaign received Russian funding, Mr Wigmore replied "not one penny or rouble".
Mr Banks, whose spouse is Russian, stated opponents of Brexit and Mr Trump had seized on claims of Russian interference as an clarification for his or her defeats, suggesting a number of MPs had used the traditional proper of parliamentary privilege to accuse Leave.EU within the House of Commons.
"This whole fake news narrative stated to roll from it. There hadn't been a Russian witch-hunt (before). It had not been mentioned. It was when Trump won, there had to be reason he won and Brexit had happened."
Meetings disclosed
Mr Wigmore stated it was Mr Yakovenko's job to keep in contact with British politicians and claimed that solely two days earlier than their final assembly with him, the Russian ambassador had met Chancellor Philip Hammond.
As they weren't MPs, he stated he and Mr Banks weren't required to formally report who they met however he stated he would give MPs particulars of all their conferences, together with with CIA officers within the United States embassy in London.
Asked if he believed there was any try by Russia to affect the result of the 2016 vote, Mr Banks stated it was "possible" however he believed it was confined to a few hackers and laptop bots at a "low level".
Leave.EU was fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission earlier this 12 months for breaches of election legislation within the Brexit referendum.
The watchdog stated the groupwhich was separate from the official pro-Brexit group Vote Leavefailed to report "at least" £77,380 it spent. Mr Banks has stated he'll attraction towards the ruling.