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Cambridge Analytica Ex-Official Denies Channeling Money to WikiLeaks - Reports

© AP Photo / Kirsty WigglesworthWikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks from the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London (File)
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks from the balcony of the Ecuadorean Embassy in London (File) - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Brittany Kaiser, the former business development director at the UK Cambridge Analytica consultancy, has denied reports that she channeled donations from third parties to WikiLeaks, after the media revealed that she visited the organization's founder, Julian Assange, last year, The Guardian reported on Thursday.

Earlier in the week, The Guardian newspaper said that it had obtained the visitor logs from Ecuador's Embassy in London, where Assange is currently residing, which reveal that the former Cambridge Analytica executive visited Assange on February 17 last year and discussed the US elections with him. The media also claimed that Kaiser allegedly received money in the form of "gifts and payments" and channeled it as cryptocurrency to WikiLeaks, which she had called her "favorite charity."

READ MORE: Top Manager at Cambridge Analytica Visited Assange in 2017 — Reports

According to the Financial Times newspaper, Kaiser confirmed the visit, but denied she had discussed any business deals with WikiLeaks or transferred money to the whistleblower from the third parties. The visit took place with no particular agenda and long time after the election, Kaiser claimed, as cited by the media outlet.

The executive said that the money meant by The Guardian investigation was a $200-donation she had made to WikiLeaks in connection with the research she did while studying human rights in law school.

WikiLeaks is facing criminal and congressional investigations in relation to the hacking of e-mails of the Democratic Party and its former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 US presidential election.

READ MORE: Cambridge Analytica CEO ‘Lied' But Claims Company Not Involved In ‘Dark Arts'

The offices of Cambridge Analytica (CA) in central London, after it was announced that Britain's information commissioner Elizabeth Denham is pursuing a warrant to search Cambridge Analytica's computer servers, Tuesday March 20, 2018 - Sputnik International
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Cambridge Analytica, which is also reported to have illegally harvested Facebook users' data, is being probed in the United States by the team of Special Counsel Robert Mueller on the alleged collusion of the team of US President Donald Trump and Russian businessmen and political figures. The firm is known for working with Trump’s campaign during the 2016 presidential election won by him.

The ties between the two organizations became subject of inquiry when media reports emerged in October saying that Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix had contacted Assange and offered him help in publishing the hacked e-mails. Media reports suggested that the e-mails had been an issue of interest for the Trump campaign. Moreover, the US Republican party, which had nominated Trump as its presidential candidate, reportedly tried to hire hackers to obtain these e-mails.

Though Assange confirmed his contacts with Nix and said that he had turned down Nix’s offer, in April, Nix told the UK lower house’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee that no Cambridge Analytica employee had ever contacted WikiLeaks. Nix also argued that interactions were held via an agency representing the whistleblowing website.

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