Tag: Russian Oligarchs

Stunning new allegations further connect Trump to Russian mobsters and oligarchs

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However we decide to account for Donald Trump’s astonishing rise and fall, we now know that he was certainly no stranger to a sprawling netherworld of Russian gangsters and oligarchs.

Now there are stunning new allegations in federal court documents that this Russian criminal network with worldwide reach hired Felix Sater, one of Trump’s closest associates, to hide a fortune stolen in Kazakhstan.

The central Asian country was once part of the Soviet Union. The stolen fortune cited in the lawsuit is the tip of the iceberg. Keep reading. Continue reading.

U.S. Cybercom contemplates information warfare to counter Russian interference in 2020 election

Washington Post logoMilitary cyber officials are developing information warfare tactics that could be deployed against senior Russian officials and oligarchs if Moscow tries to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections through hacking election systems or sowing widespread discord, according to current and former U.S. officials.

One option being explored by U.S. Cyber Command would target senior leadership and Russian elites, though probably not President Vladimir Putin, which would be considered too provocative, said the current and former officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. The idea would be to show that the target’s sensitive personal data could be hit if the interference did not stop, though officials declined to be more specific.

“When the Russians put implants into an electric grid, it means they’re making a credible showing that they have the ability to hurt you if things escalate,” said Bobby Chesney, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. “What may be contemplated here is an individualized version of that, not unlike individually targeted economic sanctions. It’s sending credible signals to key decision-makers that they are vulnerable if they take certain adversarial actions.” Continue reading

Hacked emails list right-wing fundraiser partying with Russian fascists and oligarchs

Hacked emails list a vice president at the right-wing Bradley Foundation as partying with Russian fascists and oligarchs,some of whom are now sanctioned by tje US. Credit: Diana Ofosu

A new database of hacked emails reveals attendance at a 2014 gala in Russia.

Last month, a new leak site called Distributed Denial of Secrets went live, compiling a cache of hacked emails and documents of Russian officials, confidants of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, and those steering Russian interference efforts.

Among the revelations: A higher-up at the Bradley Foundation, one of the main financiers of right-wing groups in the U.S. — including the Daily Caller News Foundation and anti-immigrant organizations — apparently attended a notorious “pro-family” conference in Russia in 2014, held shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

Dan Schmidt, who worked for decades at the Bradley Foundation, was serving as one of the foundation’s vice presidents in 2014. That same year, according to leaked emails, Russian operatives involved in cultivating the American religious right listed him as attending a swanky gala alongside Russian fascists like Alexander Dugin and now-sanctioned Russian oligarchs like Konstantin Malofeev. The emails indicate the gala also included Igor Shchegolev, who was then working as an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sergei Rudov, who helped host leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) during the gun group’s notorious 2015 trip to Russia.

View the complete January 30 article by Casey Michel on the ThinkProgress website here.

Supreme Court rules against mystery corporation from ‘Country A’ fighting subpoena in Mueller investigation

Credit:  Carlos Barria, Reuters

The Supreme Court on Tuesday left in place a lower-court order requiring an unnamed foreign-owned corporation to comply with a subpoena said to be part of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The court dissolved a temporary stay that had been put in place by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. In a short order, it did not give a reason for the decision or note any dissents.

The entity that is the subject of the cloaked legal battle — known in court papers simply as a “Corporation” from “Country A” — is a foreign financial institution that was issued a subpoena by a grand jury hearing evidence in the special counsel investigation, according to two people familiar with the case.

View the complete January 8 article by Robert Barnes, Devlin Barrett and Carol D. Leonnig on The Washington Post website here.

Paul Manafort’s Trial Starts Tuesday. Here Are the Charges and the Stakes.

The following article by Sharon LaFraniere and Emily Baumgaertner was posted on the New York Times website July 29, 2018:

Paul Manafort after his arraignment hearing in March at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va. Credit: Al Drago, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort, the veteran Republican political operative and lobbyist who helped run President Trump’s 2016 campaign, is scheduled to go to trial on financial fraud charges starting on Tuesday in United States District Court in Alexandria, Va.

The main points to be aware of:

  • It is the first trial stemming from charges brought by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the campaign.

View the complete post here.

Treasury slaps sanctions on Russian oligarchs

The following article by Shannon Vavra was posted on the Axios website April 6, 2018:

Vladimir Putin in Grand Kremlin Palace. Credit: Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images

The U.S. Treasury Department is sanctioning 7 Russian oligarchs and 12 companies the oligarchs own or control for their “ongoing and increasingly brazen malign” activity, a senior administration official told reporters Friday.

Why it matters: The move targets Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including his son-in-law, and represents the toughest sanctions against Russia since Trump took office. One senior administration official said the goal is to show that “the elite are not immune for accountability for the actions of the Russian government.” It comes as tensions between Russia and the West are rising — fast. Continue reading “Treasury slaps sanctions on Russian oligarchs”

These Russian Oligarchs Are Making Donald Trump Rich

The following article by Cristina Maza of Newsweek was posted on the National Memo website November 19, 2017:

During the many government investigations into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government during the 2016 presidential elections, President Donald Trump has insisted he doesn’t have business dealings with Russia.

“I have no loans in Russia. I don’t have any deals in Russia,” the president said in February.

But that doesn’t mean that Russians are investing in Trump. In fact, at least 63 Russian elites and oligarchs have invested around $100 million into Trump-brand real estate in southern Florida, a Reuters investigationrevealed. In the Florida resort town of Sunny Isles Beach, an area with the highest number of Russian-born residents in the U.S., the Trump brand has six residential towers. Continue reading “These Russian Oligarchs Are Making Donald Trump Rich”

Donald Trump’s Financial Ties To Russian Oligarchs And Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary From The Netherlands

The following article by Steven Rosenfeld was posted on the AlterNet website May 12, 2017:

Dutch TV did what no American TV network dares, suggesting Trump’s past includes illegal racketeering.

Donald Trump’s business partners have included Russian oligarchs and convicted mobsters, which could make the president guilty of criminal racketeering charges.

That’s one of the eyebrow-raising takeaways from a 45-minute Dutch documentary that aired last week, titled The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump, Part 1: The Russians. The first installment of the investigative reporting series, produced by Zembla, does what no American TV network has yet dared to do—take a deep look at the organized crime links and corrupt international business strategies used by Trump and his partners in his properties. Continue reading “Donald Trump’s Financial Ties To Russian Oligarchs And Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary From The Netherlands”

Trump’s business network reached alleged Russian mobsters

The following article by Drew Dorell was posted on the USA Today website March 28, 2017:

To expand his real estate developments over the years, Donald Trump, his company and partners repeatedly turned to wealthy Russians and oligarchs from former Soviet republics — several allegedly connected to organized crime, according to a USA TODAY review of court cases, government and legal documents and an interview with a former federal prosecutor.

The president and his companies have been linked to at least 10 wealthy former Soviet businessmen with alleged ties to criminal organizations or money laundering.

Among them: Continue reading “Trump’s business network reached alleged Russian mobsters”