Washington (CNN) Blackwater founder Erik Prince testified to House lawmakers that he met the head of a Russian investment fund earlier this year -- but he insisted it was not part of an effort to set up a Russian backchannel with the Trump administration, multiple sources told CNN. In private testimony Thursday, Prince informed the House Intelligence Committee that he met in the Seychelles with Kirill Dmitriev, who is the chief executive of the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund, at the request of the United Arab Emirates to discuss business opportunities. The meeting on the island in the Indian Ocean, he said, lasted roughly 20 minutes after dinner over a beer.Prince informed the House Intelligence Committee that he met in the Seychelles with Kirill DmitrievDmitriev is the chief executive of the state-run Russian Direct Investment Fund
He denied any wrongdoing and anyone on _'s team asked him to take the meeting.