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Hey did you know that Wilbur Ross and Russian Oligarch Vekselberg “go way back” — way back to both being the top owners of the Bank of Cyrpus, which is “an institution known to be a tax haven for Russian oligarchs.” Well, McClatchy News dished that dirt on this way back in 2016.
Trump’s pick for commerce secretary shares a business circle with Putin associates
by Kevin G. Hall, mcclatchydc.com — December 20, 2016
WASHINGTON Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as his commerce secretary, has been the top shareholder in a Cypriot bank with deep Russian ties and investors who made their fortunes under Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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The second largest shareholder in Bank of Cyprus is a Russian conglomerate called Renova Corp., which is headed by Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian billionaire and associate of Putin who served on the management board of Russian oil giant Rosneft, which was under U.S. financial sanctions in 2014 after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Vekselberg, with a fortune estimated at more than $14 billion, was featured by Esquire magazine as the richest Russian who doesn’t live abroad. [...]
None of that suggests that Ross himself is involved in questionable business dealings. But the roles of Vekselberg and him in Bank of Cyprus underscore the overlapping financial interests of associates of Trump and Putin.
Vekselberg also serves as the president of an offshore company in the Bahamas called Sual International, where one of his vice presidents is Len Blavatnik, the richest man in Britain, who bought storied music company Warner Brothers for $3.3 billion in 2011. Blavatnik was a co-founder, with Vekselberg, of Bank of Cyprus investor Renova.
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Hey did you know that Oligarch Vekselberg is back in the News again. It seems that he and his “American” cousin have a very active interest in “Investing in American Politicians” — and their fixer Associates ...
Russian Oligarch’s Links to Trump’s World Extend Beyond Cohen
by Stephanie Baker, Bloomberg — May 9, 2018
Payments by Cousin
It remains unclear whether the sanctions were related to the payments to [Michael] Cohen [via Essential Consultants LLC] by Columbus Nova, an investment management firm with $2 billion in assets. In a 2007 Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Columbus Nova described itself as Renova’s U.S. affiliate. Columbus Nova is run by Andrew Intrater, a U.S. citizen who is also [Viktor] Vekselberg’s cousin, according to public filings.
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Intrater donated $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration fund and a subsequent $35,000 to Trump’s re-election fund with the Republican National Committee. Intrater attended the inauguration along with Vekselberg.
As a U.S. citizen, Intrater’s donation to the inauguration was legal, but those donations and payments to Cohen appear to have entangled Vekselberg in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. Federal agents working with Mueller stopped Vekselberg at a New York airport about two months ago, before he was sanctioned, questioning him and searching his electronic devices, the New York Times reported. Mueller’s team has also questioned [Andrew] Intrater, the newspaper said.
Hey did you know that Columbus Nova (the once subsidiary of Oligarch Vekselberg’s company) denies that Vekselberg had anything to do with their own Investment in Michael Cohen — even though Viktor was ‘at the table’ with them — at the Trump Inaugural — where they met with Cohen, as this easy-installments Buy-a-Politician “Payment Plan” was hatched ...
Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen
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Among the previously unreported transactions were payments last year of about $500,000 from Columbus Nova, an investment firm in New York whose biggest client is a company controlled by Viktor Vekselberg, the Russian oligarch. A lawyer for Columbus Nova, in a statement on Tuesday, described the money as a consulting fee that had nothing to do with Mr. Vekselberg.
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The payments by Columbus Nova occurred between January and August of last year. Andrew Intrater, the company’s American chief executive and Mr. Vekselberg’s cousin, donated $250,000 to Mr. Trump’s inauguration, campaign finance records show. He and Mr. Vekselberg attended the event together and met with Mr. Cohen there, according to a person briefed on the matter. Columbus Nova retained him as a consultant soon afterward.
Hey did you know that there are digital fingerprints that show that Renova Group once touted Columbus Nova of one of ITS Companies … (as in straight-line-of-command in the Vekselberg Group company)
Nevermind that recent 2017 web history though — the Russian Oligarch Vekselberg’s operation Renova Group has already wipe that slate clean, with a perfunctory “under construction” message at its conglomerate’s web address (http://www.renova.ru/) now — Nevermind that erasure — because the digital ‘after-image’ still remains (shown above) to document the Russia-in-America truth: Web archive Image Link
Hey did you know that Wilbur Ross has a long history with dishonest Donald — bailing him out when no other banker would? And Ross has an even longer history with Oligarchs in the Putin’s inner circle ...
The road to collusion
When President Trump announced his proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum, the spokesman for this ill-begotten action was his secretary of commerce, Wilbur Ross.
Just who is Wilbur Ross?
He’s someone who made billions buying up and consolidating bankrupt American steel mills, and then selling the properties to a foreign investor. He holds a stake in a shipping company, Navigator Holdings, which operates a lucrative partnership with Sibur, a Russian gas company part-owned by Kirill Shamalov, son-in-law of Russia President Vladimir Putin.
Ross is the guy who bailed out Trump when he started missing bond payments on his Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City in the 1990s. In 2014, Ross invested €400 million in the Bank of Cyprus, an institution known to be a tax haven for Russian oligarchs. [...]
Hey did you know that Wilbur Ross’ history with Russian Oligarchs was a ‘hot-potato’ issue back during the Ross Confirmation Hearings?
New commerce secretary Wilbur Ross’s response about possible links between Bank of Cyprus, Russian agents and Trump officials wasn’t released to Senate
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner, The Guardian — 27 Feb 2017
The White House has been accused of withholding information from Congress about whether Donald Trump or any of his campaign affiliates have ever received loans from a bank in Cyprus that is partly owned by a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
A group of Democratic senators have been waiting for two weeks for Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor who has served as vice-chairman of the Bank of Cyprus since 2014, to answer a series of questions about possible links between the bank, Russian officials, and current and former Trump administration and campaign officials. Ross also received a second letter on Friday from Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey with more detailed questions about possible Russia link
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The senators’ scrutiny of Ross’s ties to Bank of Cyprus comes as the Trump administration faces several investigations, including by the FBI, into possible links between Trump campaign officials and Russia.
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In spite of the protestations of Democratic Senators — and because of the active stonewalling of the Trump Administration — the GOP Congress confirmed Wilbur Ross as U.S. Commerce Secretary, anyways.
Afterall how better to cater to any ongoing Oligarchs needs — than to have the once Oligarch Banker, running the Let’s Make a Deal commerce show in Washington, himself? They’re all “friends” afterall … going way back.
When will these U.S. sellouts — catering to Russian interests — ever be made to face the light of day for their active, and on-going betrayals?
Mad as Hell, Swamp-draining Americans — Should really want to know?
Enough already. Enough of all these Russian connections … every time we turn over a Trump rock!
WHAT is really Up with THAT America? WTF like really, Dudes. Who’s Country is it, anyways?
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