Sinn Fein raised close to $700,000 in the U.S, between November 2012 and June 2013, filings with the US government have revealed. Expenditures were $258,000 for the period between November 2012 and April 2013.

Details on activities of the party's US fundraising arm, Friends of Sinn Fein (FOSF), are contained in the latest report published by the Justice Department on its foreign agents register over the Christmas period. The money was mainly raised at dinners and events.

Sinn Fein set up its US fundraising organization in the US in the late 90s and is the only Irish political party to have a fundraising organization in the country. Canada, Australia and Britain also have Friends of Sinn Fein organizations.

The United States FOSF's returns contain details of a variety of visits by senior and mid-ranking Sinn Fein members from Ireland.

Returns filed state that the organization raised $369,445 from November 2012 to April last year and $326,918 between April and June last year.

It lists its total expenditure (mainly in travel and in maintaining a full-time office in New York) at $258,486 over the period from November 2012 and April last year. These figures are similar to amounts given to the US Department of Justice in previous years, reports the Irish Independent.

Gerry Adams had lunch with four congressmen, including Peter King from New York, in Washington in January, which was followed by a lunch with Kris Balderston, general manager of public relations firm Fleishman Hilliard's Washington office, at Bobby Van's in New York. Balderston has been a key figure in Hillary Clinton campaigns.