An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who says he was "wrongfully persecuted" by the US, which claimed he meddled in 2016 elections, vowed Tuesday to sue Washington for $50 billion in damages.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the rich Russian businessman dubbed "Putin's chef," made the announcement after the U.S. Justice Department on Monday abruptly dropped charges against his company Concord.

Prosecutors had accused Concord of being behind a campaign to help Donald Trump win the presidency.

This development meant that allegations like "Prigozhin meddled in a U.S. presidential election" or "Russia meddled in a U.S. presidential election" were "lies and fiction", the secretive businessman said.

Concord was preparing a lawsuit for "wrongful persecution," Prigozhin said in a statement, adding he would seek $50 billion in damages.

The U.S. authorities had dropped the case because they were scared of bad "publicity and a fair trial," he added.