So many oligarchs, so little money. Does explain the timing of various things… killing Iran deal on the day after Schneiderman revelations. The path to paying Stormy off goes through the same banks used for money laundering. Avenatti’s seven-page summary indicates some interesting money ‘funnels’.
And then there’s money-laundering Cyprus banks.
Why did the commerce secretary downplay his business ties to the Putin-friendly oligarch Viktor Vekselberg?
Ross and Vekselberg were each a major investor in a Cyprus bank that had been linked to dirty Russian money—a connection that Ross tried to downplay when he faced confirmation before the US Senate last year.
In announcing its recent sanctions on Russia, the Treasury Department suggested that Vekselberg runs a corrupt outfit. Its press release noted, “In 2016, Russian prosecutors raided Renova’s offices and arrested two associates of Vekselberg, including the company’s chief managing director and another top executive, for bribing officials connected to a power generation project in Russia.” And Mnuchin declared, “Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from [Russia’s] corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government’s destabilizing activities.” Well, Ross was doing business with this profiting-from-corruption oligarch until Ross was tapped by Trump to join his cabinet. And this remains one of the Trump-Russia connections that still warrants greater explanation.
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