SUNNY ISLES, FL — With all eyes on Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, it may come as a surprise that there would be a paper trail connecting a Russian government official with a Trump-branded condominium in the Miami area. But that's what The Miami Herald detailed recently. The paper found that Igor Zorin at one time owned three condos worth about $5.4 million in the Trump Palace along Collins Avenue and still owns two of them.

Zorin, who runs the state-owned Russian broadcasting company that is responsible for the sound system at the country's annual military parade in Red Square, spent around $8 million in total on Miami area properties, including $3.3 million on a nearby Bal Harbour home plus his Trump-branded condominiums. The condos are in Trump Palace, which is located in a beachfront area that boasts several other Trump-branded buildings. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

The area is sometimes referred to as "Little Moscow" by locals because of the large numbers of Russians who live there. The paper reported that none of the properties were listed on public disclosure forms that Zorin would have been required to file in Russia as a government official. The identified Zorin's local business associate was identified as Svyatoslav Mangushev, a former Russian intelligence officer, who the paper said helped found a Miami area biker club called Spetsnaz M.C. The Russian name refers to elite special forces in that country.