Nicolás Maduro Ex-PM was paid £240,000 after meeting with Venezuela's leader

From a private jet somewhere over the Caribbean Sea in February last year, Boris Johnson called his old political adversary David Cameron, then the foreign secretary, to notify him of a visit.

- Henry Dyer

Johnson had taken a day out from a family holiday in the Dominican Republic for an unlikely meeting with the leftwing president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, a man whom Johnson, when in office, had likened to a "dictator of an evil regime".

The other participant in the meeting was less well known: Maarten Petermann, a hedge fund manager.

When later questioned about the meeting, Johnson told UK government officials: "It is not true to say that I was paid for any meetings in Venezuela." The former prime minister said he had no contractual relationship with the hedge fund Merlyn Advisors.

Johnson later suggested he had been acting as a diplomatic back channel, but the Guardian can reveal that weeks after attending the 45-minute meeting, Johnson received £240,000 from Petermann.

The revelation is contained in the Boris Files, which contain a contract with Merlyn Advisors signed by Johnson in September 2023.

The contract, drawn up by Merlyn, notes that Johnson "has acquired a unique experience and knowledge of domestic UK government politics and international relations".

It says Merlyn Advisors "interacts with a number of different domestic and international stakeholders which would benefit from the perspectives and the experiences of" Johnson. For each meeting, Johnson was to be paid a fee of £200,000 - worth up to £1.6m a year for eight meetings.

The contract was to last two years from October 2023. The company would also pay £35,000 a month to support a thinktank that Johnson was considering setting up in the UK.

Johnson did not respond to requests for comment. Petermann said: "I have no comment. Please don't try to put words in my mouth as to whether or not I dispute it."

The Guardian has not confirmed whether the payment made to Johnson was for his visit to Venezuela.