US investigators reveal head of Russia’s ‘troll factory’

HE’S served former US Presidents in his role as Mr Putin’s chef. But he is also believed to have had a hand in Mr Trump being elected.

YEVGENY Prigozhin is a chef, a businessman and apparently — a troll.

United States investigators believe he was behind a “fake news” campaign that may have helped get Donald Trump into the oval office and that he financed Russia’s “troll factory”.

CNN reports Mr Prigozhin’s company used social media to spread false news reports during the 2016 presidential campaign, and there was a specified “Department of Provocations” dedicated to growing social divisions in America.

So who actually is he?

CNN’s report seems to suggest Vlad is a man with a plan. Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev

Mr Prigozhin is technically employed as Vladimir Putin’s cook, and he served caviar and truffles to US President George W. Bush all the way back in 2002.

He owns a number of exclusive restaurants, a successful catering business with lucrative contracts to supply schools and Russia’s armed forces, as well as his own food-processing factories.

However, the 56-year-old father-of-two allegedly has his fingers in a lot of other pies.

He’s believed to have been the main financier of a secretive technology firm in St Petersburg, his hometown, known as the “Internet Research Agency”.

Was that a look of mutual appreciation back at the G20 in July? Or were they just comparing hand sizes? Picture: Evan Vucci

During the election, CNN reported, the company was able to monitor social media and tamper with search engine results through “a system of automised promotion”.

Documents suggest it had been operating for years and spent more than $US1 million (A$1.27 million) a month since at least 2013.

The “troll factory” was reportedly tasked with researching every aspect of America and all the issues the country was dealing with — such as tax problems, gay rights, and weapons regulation — so it could influence discussions online, and lead it astray.

According to Russian investigative journalist Andrei Zekharov, the company was made up of a lot of legal entities that changed every year or two.

No one loves #fakenews more than Donald Trump — and he’s continued to work it to his advantage long after he took over the Oval Office. Picture: Mandel Ngan

Mr Prigozhin is undoubtedly a colourful character.

He was sanctioned by the US in 2016 for providing financial support for Russia’s military occupation of Ukraine.

He also spent nine years in prison in the 1980s for fraud and robbery.

Unsurprisingly, America has been watching him for ages.

In fact, a declassified report published in January concluded the “likely financier of the so-called Internet Research Agency of professional trolls located in Saint Petersburg is a close Putin ally with ties to Russian intelligence” — however, they didn’t refer to him by name.

It’s unclear what US authorities will do next. After all, if the reports are true, he could be one of Donald Trump’s biggest allies.