A former Russian intelligence officer pressured Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE into paying debts to a Russian oligarch, Time magazine reported Saturday.

Victor Boyarkin told Time that he had connections to Manafort, President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE's former campaign chairman, during the 2016 election on behalf of a Russian oligarch.

“He owed us a lot of money,” he said. “And he was offering ways to pay it back.”

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Boyarkin, a former arms dealer, also told Time that he has been approached by special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE over the connection to Manafort.

“I told them to go dig a ditch,” he said.

According to Time, Manafort was in debt to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, Boyarkin's boss, when he joined the Trump campaign.

Manafort reportedly tried to offer “private briefings” about the presidential race to Deripaska via email to “get whole.”

Mueller released a filing earlier this month that Manafort had lied to the FBI and special counsel about contacts with the White House and an associate with ties with Russia.