Kukushkin charges draw review of California pot licenses

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The arrest of a Ukrainian-born businessman on charges of conspiring to violate federal campaign finance laws has triggered a review of the California cannabis licenses he was granted.

Bureau of Cannabis Control Chief Lori Ajax tells the Los Angeles Times the indictment of Andrey Kukushkin raises concerns.

Kukushkin was indicted this month along with two associates of President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani on charges involving funneling foreign money into U.S. politics.

The Times reports that in the last year a partnership involving Kukushkin obtained a dozen California state licenses to sell and distribute marijuana.

Ajax says officials are looking at all the documentation associated with the licenses, which are provisional permits.

An attorney for Kukushkin has said he intends to fight the charges filed in New York federal court.

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/