He's known as "Putin's chef" — a wealthy Russian businessman and restaurateur who gained favour with Vladimir Putin through his stomach. "Americans are very impressionable people; they see what they want to see," Prigozhin was quoted as saying Friday on Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti on Friday. A one-time hot dog stand owner, Prigozhin opened one of the swankiest restaurants in St. Petersburg and drew interest from Putin. In 2016, Evro Polis listed the sale of food products as its core activities, according to the Spark Interfax database. But in 2017, it listed mining, oil and gas production, and opened an office in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Source: CBC News February 17, 2018 04:52 UTC