Manhattan federal prosecutors told a jury on Wednesday that Lev Parnas and a former business associate were “laughing” as they worked to conceal about $1 million in foreign money that they had allegedly conspired to funnel into U.S elections in 2018.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aline Flodr outlined for a jury of eight men and four women an audacious scheme by the former associate of Rudy Giuliani and his accused co-defendant, Andrey Kukushkin, to allegedly “paper over” illegal campaign donations on behalf of a wealthy Russian benefactor, in a bid to secure licenses for a recreational marijuana business.