Washington (CNN) Maria Butina, who is accused by US prosecutors of being a foreign agent of Russia, was involved in meetings with US government officials in 2015, according to a think tank official who arranged the meetings.

Butina attended meetings in 2015 with Stanley Fischer, then Federal Reserve vice chairman, and Nathan Sheets, who was then Treasury undersecretary for international affairs in the Obama administration. The meetings were first reported by Reuters.

The meetings were arranged by the Center for the National Interest, a think tank founded by former President Richard Nixon. Paul Saunders, the think tank's executive director, confirmed the meetings, but said that the Center for the National Interest did not invite Butina.

"We facilitated meetings for Alexander Torshin, in his capacity as a vice chairman of Russia's Central Bank," Saunders said in an email. "It was his decision that Maria Butina would accompany him as an interpreter."

Butina, along with her mentor, Torshin, worked for years to establish communications in the US for Russia, according to court filings and previous CNN reporting, and used the National Rifle Association as a major avenue of influence.

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