Italy's far-Right League party sought tens of millions of euros in funding from Russian investors in a secret meeting where an aide close to Matteo Salvini, the party leader, said they "had to be close to Russia," a leaked tape has revealed.

The transcript of an hour-long meeting between Russian investors and an aide from Mr Salvini's League, obtained by the news website BuzzFeed, is the latest evidence of high-level collusion between far-Right European populist movements and Moscow.

According to BuzzFeed, the deal would involve a Russian oil company selling around three million metric tons of fuel to Italian oil company Eni over a year, with a value of around $1.5 bn.

Intermediaries would handle the buying and selling, adding a discount at the latter stage.

In a transcript published by BuzzFeed, six men - three Russian and three Italians - discuss funneling money from a Russian oil deal into the League's coffers.