Stormy Daniels’ lawyer said on Tuesday he has information showing that Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, received $500,000 from a company associated with a Russian billionaire.

The money was transferred within months of paying hush money to Daniels, a porn star who claims she had an affair with Mr Trump, Michael Avenatti said.

The lawyer said hundreds of thousands of dollars streamed into Cohen’s account from companies, including pharmaceutical giant Novartis, AT&T and Korea Aerospace, with US government business interests. AT&T confirmed its connection on Tuesday evening.

Avenatti did not reveal the source of his information or release documentation. But in a seven-page memo, Avenatti detailed what he said were wire transfers going into and out of the account Cohen used to pay Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to stay silent about her alleged affair with the soon-to-be president. Mr Trump denies having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

Financial documents reviewed on Tuesday by The Associated Press appeared to back up Avenatti’s report.

The memo, containing specific dates and amounts, stated that Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian billionaire, and his cousin "routed" eight payments totalling approximately $500,000 to Cohen’s company, Essential Consultants, between January and August 2017. The reason for the payment was not known.