Several Russians, some linked to the Kremlin, participated in meetings in the Seychelles in January 2017 and are subjects of an ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, according to the island's aircraft data and sources with knowledge of the meetings.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is examining a series of meetings that took place in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, as part of a broader investigation into Russian meddling. The inquiry into the meetings suggests there is growing interest by the Mueller team into whether foreign financing, specifically from Gulf states, has influenced President Donald Trump and his administration.

Much speculation has centered on one particular meeting between Erik Prince, founder of the security company Blackwater; Kirill Dmitriev, the director of one of Russia's sovereign wealth funds; and Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the effective ruler of the United Arab Emirates, also known as "MBZ."

Participants of other meetings that week in January, which focused generally on Syria, energy and sanctions, hailed from Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel and the U.S., according to three people with knowledge of the meetings and flight manifests obtained by NJ Advance Media. All three requested to remain anonymous because they feared retribution from their respective governments.

Sources say several Russians participated in meetings on the need for the lifting of U.S. sanctions to facilitate trade. Dmitriev's wife Natalia Popova was also present in several conversations with foreign representatives while staying on the island, the sources said.

It's unclear how many representatives from each country attended the meetings, some of which were informal conversations over dinner. But new information points to more than 10 Russians, some linked to the Kremlin, participating in discussions.

NJ Advance Media reported in May that an aircraft linked to the Russian government landed in the Seychelles the day before Prince allegedly met with Dmitriev, which raised questions about the scope of the meetings and whether sanctions were a topic of conversation.

The Russian plane in question departed from Moscow, stopped in Dubai, and landed in the Seychelles at 4:21 p.m. Jan. 10, 2017, according to the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority -- one day before Prince arrived on the island. The plane carried six passengers, including flight crew.

The passengers stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel -- the scene for the meetings that week in January.

Two individuals familiar with the aircraft's purchasing history said the aircraft is owned by Andrei Skoch, a Russian billionaire who made his fortune in the mining business and is now a deputy in the Russian State Duma, the country's legislative body. Skoch is currently under U.S. sanctions.

That same plane flew to Dubai later in the day on Jan. 10. It returned to the island days later and departed Jan. 19 with a total of 16 passengers. The World Economic Forum began Jan. 20 in Switzerland.

Two individuals with knowledge of the meetings in the Seychelles said several of the individuals who flew out on Jan. 19 participated directly in meetings that focused on international trade and sanctions.

The plane that carried the Russians to the island in January returned in March around the same time as George Nader -- the Lebanese-American businessman cooperating with Mueller who helped broker the meeting between Prince and Dmitriev in the Seychelles.

The Russian plane left the island in March with 20 passengers and flew back to Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow.

Other individuals on the island the same week as Prince in January 2017 included Alexander Mashkevitch, an alleged financier of Bayrock, an investment vehicle linked to Trump; and Sheikh Abdulrahman Khalid BinMahfouz, according to flight records. BinMahfouz's father, before his death, was a billionaire and the former chairman of Saudi Arabia's first private bank.

Erin Banco may be reached at ebanco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ErinBanco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.