Erik Prince, the founder of the security firm Blackwater, met with a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin in January in an effort to establish a back-channel line of communication between the Russian government and then President-elect Donald Trump, The Washington Post reports.

Citing "U.S., European and Arab officials," the Post reports that the United Arab Emirates arranged a secret meeting on Jan. 11 between Prince and the Russian — whom the paper's sources did not identify — that was held in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean. "Though the full agenda remains unclear," the UAE set up the meeting to "explore whether Russia could be persuaded to curtail its relationship with Iran, including in Syria," the Post reports.

Prince was not a formal representative of the Trump campaign or transition team, but the UAE officials involved in the meeting believed he was an "unofficial envoy" for Trump, according to the Post.

Two unnamed intelligence sources told NBC News the meeting took place and that Prince represented Trump at the secret meeting. One of NBC's sources confirmed the Post's account, while the other said the meeting was about Middle East policy, not Russia.

Prince, a former Navy SEAL, was a major donor to the Trump campaign and his sister, Betsy DeVos serves as Trump's secretary of Education. He also has ties to Trump adviser Stephen Bannon, the Post reports.

The Post's sources said the FBI is looking at the Seychelles (pronounced say-shells) meeting — which took place nine days before Trump's inauguration — as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and any potential cooperation between Russian agents and the Trump campaign.

“Erik had no role on the transition team. This is a complete fabrication," a spokesman to Prince said in a statement to the Post. "The meeting had nothing to do with President Trump. Why is the so-called under-resourced intelligence community messing around with surveillance of American citizens when they should be hunting terrorists?”

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said, “We are not aware of any meetings and Erik Prince had no role in the transition,“We are not aware of any meetings and Erik Prince had no role in the transition," according to the Post.

Blackwater operated as one of the largest private military security contractors during the height of the war in Iraq. A storm of controversy surrounded the firm, particularly in the wake of a 2007 shooting by Blackwater guards that left 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians dead and 17 wounded. Four of those guards were convicted on federal criminal charges in 2014. Prince sold Blackwater, but stayed in the private security business. He now heads Frontier Services Group, based in Hong Kong, according to the Post.

Separately, former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page met with a Russian intelligence official in 2013, according to court filings first.

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