Investigators have another possible Russia channel to probe involving Trump associates, only this one is a lot more tangential than a direct meeting with the Russian ambassador.

Erik Prince, the brother of Education Secretary Betsy de Vos and a confidant and the former head of Blackwater, met in the Seychelles with a Russian close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Washington Post reported.

The meeting occurred in the island nation off the African coast Jan. 11, shorty before Trump took office, and got set up with the assistance of representatives of the United Arab Emirates, the paper reported.

The meeting followed a December meeting in New York attended by Trump advisors Stephen Bannon, son-in-law Jared Kushner, ex security advisor Michael Flynn and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Former Blackwater head Eric Prince reportedly went to the Seychelles for a meeting with a Russian close to President Vladimir Putin. The Washington Post reported that the purpose was to set up a 'back channel' arrangement

Sheikh Zayed did not disclose the visit to the outgoing Obama administration, although his was revealed on a flight manifest, according to the paper.

Officials said the FBI was 'scrutinizing' the meeting, although the bureau did not comment on the record for the report.

A Prince Spokesman dismissed the report, although the spokesman did not deny that a meeting occurred.

'Erik had no role on the transition team. This is a complete fabrication. The meeting had nothing to do with President Trump. Why is the so-called under-resourced intelligence community messing around with surveillance of American citizens when they should be hunting terrorists?' said the spokesman.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said: 'We are not aware of any meetings and Erik Prince had no role in the transition.'

NO TIE UP AT LA GUARDIA: The meeting reportedly occured on the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean

The meeting followed an undisclosed trip by Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan to New York, where he met with top Trump advisors

The supposed back-channel meeting occurred at a time that the media was keeping a close eye on anything having to do with the Trump team and Russia, following the intelligence community's public conclusion that Russia interfered in the U.S. elections.

Mike Flynn, who became White House national security advisor, resigned after failing to disclose his contacts with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence.

The Post didn't say exactly why the meeting happened on the island nation in the Indian Ocean, though it noted that prominent Emiratis have property and vacation there.

'I wouldn't be surprised at all,' Barry Faure, the Seychelles secretary of state for foreign affairs told the paper. 'The Seychelles is the kind of place where you can have a good time away from the eyes of the media. That's even printed in our tourism marketing. But I guess this time you smelled something.'

Prince donated $250,000 to the Trump campaign, but had no formal title on the campaign or the transition.

OFF THE GRID: The meeting reportedly took place in the Seychelles

White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has interviewed Prince on his radio program

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos waiting for President Donald Trump to arrive to sign various bills in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. She is the sister of Erik Prince, former head of Blackwater

Erik Prince, shown testifying about Blackwater, reportedly went to the Seychelles for a meeting with a Russian close to President Vladimir Putin, the Washington Post reported

A purported purpose of the meeting was to endeavor to pull Russia away from Iran, a nation with which it has longstanding relations and an all in the Syrian civil war. Doing so would be a major policy U-turn for Moscow.

Trump considers Iran to be a top threat and has vowed to rip up the international Iran nuclear deal, although that hasn't happened yet.

After Zayed's meeting in New York, Prince approached the crown prince and told him he was authorized as an unofficial surrogate, the paper said, citing intelligence officials.

He asked Zayed to set up the meeting. Officials didn't identify the Russian who was reportedly close to Putin.

The article only briefly mentioned U.S.-imposed sanctions on Russia, which have been a top concern for Russian officials.