A Canadian steel industry billionaire illegally helped steer $1.75 million in donations to a pro-Trump super PAC and has agreed to pay one of the largest fines ever levied by the Federal Election Commission to settle the case, the commission said on Friday.
The $975,000 fine will be paid by entities controlled by Barry Zekelman, a steel industry executive from Ontario who had lobbied the Trump administration to use its power to tighten import restrictions on Mr. Zekelman’s competitors from around the world.
The action came as the election commission continues a multiyear crackdown on foreign influence in American politics.
Mr. Zekelman’s donations in 2018 to the America First Action super PAC helped him secure an invitation to a private dinner with President Donald J. Trump at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, where Mr. Zekelman personally pushed Mr. Trump about the steel tariffs and other matters.
The $1.75 million in donations came from a Pennsylvania-based subsidiary of Mr. Zekelman’s company named Wheatland Tube.
But The New York Times first reported in 2019 that Mr. Zekelman played a role in directing one of his executives who is a U.S. citizen to send in the contributions — some of the largest made by any donor to the super PAC — even though federal law prohibits foreigners from participating in decision making related to campaign donations, as well as from directly writing campaign checks.
The $975,000 fine is the third largest in the history of the Federal Election Commission, and the largest ever imposed in a case associated with an illegal foreign contribution.