<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5723db8452bcd044008c0122-2400/ap16103816789509.jpg" alt="trump tower" data-mce-source="Associated Press/Mark Lennihan" data-mce-caption="This March 16, 2016 file photo shows Trump Tower in New York, the luxury tower emblazoned with Donald Trump's name." /><p class="source"><span>Associated Press/Mark Lennihan</span></p><p class="caption">This March 16, 2016 file photo shows Trump Tower in New York, the luxury tower emblazoned with Donald Trump's name.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Rinat Akhmetshin, the Russian lobbyist and ex-Soviet military intelligence officer who was at Donald Trump Jr.'s Trump Tower Russia meeting last June, has deep connections to the Kremlin.</strong></li><li><strong>He was involved in two hacking-related cases after working for Russian businessmen who were closely allied to Vladimir Putin.</strong></li><li><strong>Akhmetshin has also told reporters he is a "longtime acquaintance" of Paul Manafort, though Manafort's spokesman denied the claim.</strong></li></ul><p>Rinat Akhmetshin, the Russian lobbyist who was present at Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer last June at Trump Tower, may have stronger ties to the Kremlin than previously reported, <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/us/rinat-akhmetshin-russia-trump-meeting.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The New York Times</a> reported Monday.</p><p><span>A former </span><span>Soviet military intelligence officer, Akhmetshin has long been tied to Kremlin-linked individuals, but the new Times report has drawn connections between Akhmetshin and several high profile Russian billionaires, for whom he supposedly worked. The billionaires were embroiled in contentious legal battles and have been accused of hacking their opponents. </span></p><p><span>Further, the Times found that, in 2010, Akhmetshin began working with Viktor Ivanov, who used to be the deputy head of Russia's intelligence agency, the F.S.B., and who previously served as a top adviser to Putin. </span></p><p><span>In an affidavit Akhmetshin provided in one of the hacking cases, he said he had spoken to Ivanov about topics "from narco-trafficking and terrorism in Afghanistan to surveillance of undercover agents, suspected undercover agents and their identities." </span></p><h2><span>The hacking cases</span></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/599c59a0f1a850c02a8b6510-1746/suleiman kerimov.jpg" alt="suleiman kerimov" data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="Dagestani born tycoon Suleiman Kerimov watches a soccer match between Anzhi and Spartak in Moscow April 22, 2012." /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Dagestani born tycoon Suleiman Kerimov watches a soccer match between Anzhi and Spartak in Moscow April 22, 2012.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Akhmetshin has been tied in the past with multiple Russian businessmen with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he was involved in two legal battles in which his associates' rivals were victims of sophisticated hacking operations. </p><p>In one case, Akhmetshin was tied to Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, when <span>Kerimov was involved in a dispute with competitor Ashot Egiazaryan.</span></p><p>Kerimov is a portfolio investor who is said to be <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ad4e8816-52d0-11e1-ae2c-00144feabdc0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">tied to the Kremlin</a> through his <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-uralkali-idUSBRE98C0NM20130913" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">business dealings</a> with individuals like Vladimir Kogan, a Russian tycoon who's been referred to as "Putin's banker." In March, Putin also awarded Kerimov the Order for Merit to the Fatherland of II.  </p><p>During Kerimov's conflict with Egiazaryan in 2011, two British lawyers representing Egiazaryan received suspicious emails, sources familiar with the investigation told the Times. Forensic analysis of the emails determined that the messages contained malicious content meant to infect their computers. The emails originated from computers registered with one of Kerimov's companies in Moscow. </p><p>Later that year, Russia approved a warrant for Egiazaryan's arrest, based on charges of large-scale fraud. Egiazaryan is currently a fugitive and wanted by Interpol. </p><p>In 2013, Akhmetshin was directly accused of hacking in a separate case. At the time, Akhmetshin was consulting for a law firm representing EuroChem, a mining company owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. Melnichenko, the Times noted, is closely associated with Putin, and the allegations against Akhmetshin claimed he was targeting International Mineral Resources, a EuroChem competitor. </p><p>A source familiar with the case told the Times that Akhmetshin had personally given a flash drive containing hacked documents to a lawyer "engaged in another matter potentially damaging" to International Mineral Resources. An investigator working for EuroChem's competitor also claimed he'd overheard Akhmetshin saying that he had paid Russian hackers "a lot of money" for the documents. Court filings reviewed by the Times indicate that the content on the flash drive was also accessed by someone with the initials, "R.A."</p><p>When Akhmetshin was questioned about those events during a deposition, he confirmed he had handed over a hard drive with information about International Mineral Resources, but claimed that the information had come from a Kazakh contact. He denied knowing anything about hacking and said he did not "know a single person who could do that." </p><h2>The June meeting</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58d3dbebd349f914038b65db-1280/gettyimages-524993070.jpg" alt="Paul Manafort" data-mce-source="Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Paul Manafort" /><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Paul Manafort</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower arranged by Donald Trump Jr. and its attendees are now being scrutinized by Robert Mueller, the special counsel in charge of the FBI's investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the 2016 election in his favor.<span> </span></p><p>Akhmetshin has told reporters that he took last June's <span>Trump Tower meeting with Trump Jr.</span> by chance. He said he was having lunch with Russian <span>lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya </span>that day when she "spontaneously" invited him to the meeting.</p><p><span>For at least the last year, he has worked closely with Veselnitskaya to lobby against the 2012 Magnitsky Act, a US law that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/magnitsky-act-russian-adoptions-donald-trump-jr-meeting-2017-7">blacklists Russians accused of human rights abuses</a>. </span></p><p><span>In addition, Akhmetshin has said that he is a "longtime acquaintance" of Paul Manafort, </span><span>Trump's former campaign manager who was present at the meeting. Manafort was once a </span><span>top adviser to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian strongman whom Manafort is widely credited with helping win the presidency in 2010. Akhmetshin has told reporters in the past that he unsuccessfully tried to consult Yanukovych's </span><span>pro-Russia Party of Regions before Russia invaded and annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014, according to the Times. </span></p><p><span>Manafort's spokesman, Jason Maloni, denied any relationship between his client and Akhmetshin. "More gossip and unconfirmable nonsense - Paul doesn't know and hasn't worked with the man," Maloni told Business Insider in response to the Times' investigation.</span></p><p>Manafort invited further scrutiny scrutiny after The Washington Post<span> </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-paul-manafort-home-raid-russia-probe-2017-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a><span> </span>that the FBI conducted a predawn raid on his home in July. Agents working with Mueller left Manafort's home "with various records," according to The Post.</p><p>Manafort has been cooperating with investigators' requests for relevant documents. But the search warrant obtained by the FBI in July indicates that Mueller managed to convince a federal judge that Manafort would try to conceal or destroy documents subpoenaed by a grand jury. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-virginia-winery-vineyard-2016-11">We went inside the Charlottesville winery Trump bragged about during the press conference</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/HoSXztac-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

The lobbyist at Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting may have stronger links to the Kremlin than we knew

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5abe58faf131653e008b45f0-1200/rts1exb9.jpg" border="0" alt="Vladimir Putin" data-mce-source="Reuters" data-mce-caption="Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a glass of champagne during a ceremony to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 3, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a glass of champagne during a ceremony to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 3, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The US slapped new sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, 17 senior Russian government officials, and more than a dozen Russian entities on Friday.</strong></li><li><strong>The US Treasury Department cited Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, annexation of Crimea, its aid to the Syrian regime, and its "malicious" cyber activities around the globe as reasons for imposing new sanctions.</strong></li><li><strong>The measures come after the US announced sanctions against 19 Russian nationals and five entities last month in retaliation for Russia's interference in the 2016 election.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>The US Treasury slapped new sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs and 17 senior Russian government officials on Friday, citing Russia's annexation of Crime and aggression toward Ukraine, its support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and its malicious cyber activities around the globe.</p><p>"<span>Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government's destabilizing activities," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.</span></p><p><span>The latest sanctions target some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies - like his son-in-law Kirill Shamalov; the aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska; and Russian Federation Council member and portfolio investor Suleiman Kerimov; Russian banker and politician Alexander Torshin; and energy tycoon Viktor Vekselberg.</span></p><p><span>The new sanctions also target 12 companies owned by the newly sanctioned oligarchs, as well as the Russian state-owned weapons company Rosoboroneksport, which has longtime ties to the Syrian government that stretch back over a decade. The Treasury also sanctioned the Russian Financial Corporation Bank (RFC Bank), which is owned by Rosoboroneksport.</span><span></span></p><p><span>As a result of the sanctions, the 17 senior Russian government officials will have their assets frozen, and the Treasury added that non-US persons "could face sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for or on behalf of the individuals or entities blocked today."</span></p><p><span>Friday's measures come after the Trump administration slapped sanctions last month on 19 Russian nationals and five Russian entities, including those charged by the special counsel Robert Mueller with conspiring to interfere in the 2016 US election by launching a social media influence campaign to sway US voters in favor of candidate Donald Trump.</span><span></span></p><p><span>The US's actions come after Russia was accused of ordering the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK in March.</span></p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/death-penalty-longer-harsher-sentences-mandatory-minimum-drug-dealers-deter-crime-rate-trump-2018-3">Here's why the death penalty and longer prison sentences don't really deter crime</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/29dcpQ2n-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

The Trump administration targets Putin's inner circle with new Russia sanctions

<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/59427df6688ad261008b484b-1024/gettyimages-129033699.jpg" border="0" alt="Vladimir Putin" data-mce-source="Pool/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Pool/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul><li><strong>The US slapped new sanctions Friday on 24 wealthy Russians and government officials, as well as over a dozen Russian-controlled entities.</strong></li><li><strong>The sanctions cast a wide net by targeting some of the Kremlin's top allies, and they are likely to anger Russian President Vladimir Putin.</strong></li><li><strong>"The US sanctions list on Putin cronies hits the bullseye of the Putin regime," wrote Bill Browder, a banker turned human-rights activist and fierce Putin critic. "Since he values money more than human life, this action couldn't be a more powerful message."</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>Washington came out swinging against Moscow when it announced new sanctions Friday against two dozen Russian nationals and 14 Russian entities.</p><p>The sanctions target seven Russian oligarchs and 17 senior government officials who are closely aligned with the Kremlin. The US will also penalize 12 companies operated by the sanctioned oligarchs; <span>Rosoboroneksport, </span>a state-owned weapons manufacturer known to have transported arms to the Syrian regime; and <span>Rosoboroneksport's</span> subsidiary, the Russian Financial Corporation Bank.</p><p>Friday's sanctions pack a big punch for one key reason: they target some of Russia's wealthiest citizens, many of whom are linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p><p>The latest measures follow additional sanctions the US announced against Russia last month. Those sanctions were seen as a primarily symbolic move meant to underscore the US's solidarity with the UK after it sanctioned Russia in retaliation for the poisoning of a former Russian spy on British soil.</p><p>Michael Carpenter, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense, summed up why the new sanctions are much more substantial: "<span>Putin will be pissed off since these go after key oligarchs &amp; enablers with personal ties to the Kremlin," he <a href="https://twitter.com/mikercarpenter/status/982283308783423489" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Twitter.</span></p><p><span>While previous US sanctions have targeted Putin's close friends, Carpenter added, "today's list expands beyond the 'inner circle' and gets at some of the key oligarch enablers who have assets in the West. That sends a [message]."</span></p><p><span>Bill Browder, a banker turned human-rights activist and fierce Putin critic, echoed that view.</span></p><p><span>"The US sanctions list on Putin cronies hits the bullseye of the Putin regime," he <a href="https://twitter.com/Billbrowder/status/982259230106251264" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>. "Putin uses oligarch trustees to hold his illicit wealth. Since he values money more than human life, this action couldn't be a more powerful message."</span></p><p><span>The seven oligarchs added to the list of sanctioned individuals on Friday are: Oleg Deripaska, Suleiman Kerimov, Igor Rotenberg, Kirill Shamalov, Andrei Skoch, Viktor Vekselberg, and Vladimir Bogdanov.</span><span></span></p><p><span>The inclusion of companies controlled by the oligarchs in the US' latest sanctions will also likely put increased financial pressure on Russia.</span></p><p>Browder said "it doesn't matter if any of the sanctioned Putin cronies knew" about the coming sanctions in advance.</p><p>"Once a person is on the US Treasury sanctions list, no bank in the world will do business with that person. Period. They become financial pariahs," he said.</p><p>Among those targeted in Friday's sanctions are the children of Putin's allies, like Igor Rotenberg and Kirill Shamalov. Rotenberg's father, Arkady, is a Russian oligarch and close friend of Putin who is already under US sanctions. Meanwhile, Shamalov is married to Putin's daughter and has seen significant financial prosperity since joining the Russian leader's family.</p><p>"T<span>hese designations will frighten the elite, who assumed kids were off limits," Carpenter said.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a0799383dbef48a6a8b51a0-2000/rts1jgw3.jpg" border="0" alt="vladimir putin donald trump" data-mce-source="Reuters/Jorge Silva" data-mce-caption="U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Jorge Silva</span></p><p class="caption">U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam November 11, 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-sanctions-list-oleg-deripaska-viktor-vekselberg-alexander-torshin-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Four names on the list</a> have also surfaced in reports about President Donald Trump's ties to Russia: Deripaska and Vekselberg, both of whom were on the list of sanctioned oligarchs, and Russian banker Alexander Torshin and Russian politician Konstantin Kosachev.</span></p><p><span>Deripaska is a longtime business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Manafort is said to have offered Deripaska "private briefings" about the campaign in 2016. </span></p><p><span>Vekselberg attended Trump's inaugural festivities and is an associate of commerce secretary Wilbur Ross. Two of Vekselberg's US associates also donated a combined $1.25 million to Trump's inaugural committee. </span></p><p><span>Torshin is being investigated by the FBI for using the National Rifle Association to illegally funnel money to Trump's 2016 campaign. </span></p><p><span>And Kosachev was identified in the Trump-Russia dossier as being an important figure in the Trump campaign's alleged liaison with the Kremlin during the election.</span></p><p><span>Carpenter said one should "expect the Kremlin to view these sanctions as a hostile act, no matter how much the White House distances itself rhetorically from these actions."</span></p><p><span>He added: "The good cop/bad cop shtick is over. So the bottom line here is this is a step in the right direction."</span></p><p><span>The US' latest measures against Russia come after the Trump administration released a list earlier this year of over 200 prominent Russian figures, including 96 oligarchs, who benefited financially under Putin's presidency.</span></p><p><span>Lobbyists representing pro-Russia interests mounted an intense campaign to shelve the list's release in January amid fears from Russia's wealthiest that it could later be used to target them for sanctions.</span></p><p><span>On Friday, that's exactly what happened.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/julian-ku-north-south-korea-reunification-2018-3">3 reasons why North and South Korean reunification is unlikely</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/LrV53I54-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

'Putin will be pissed off': The US's latest round of sanctions hit Russia where it hurts

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a99b3a9aae6051b078b475e-1900/ap17365795149663.jpg" border="0" alt="Vladimir Putin" data-mce-source="Alexei Nikolsky, Kremlin Pool Photo / AP Images" /><p class="source"><span>Alexei Nikolsky, Kremlin Pool Photo / AP Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>The three biggest names on the list of Russian nationals sanctioned by the US on Friday are: Oleg Deripaska, Viktor Vekselberg, and Alexander Torshin.</strong></li><li><strong>Torshin and Deripaska are known to have been in indirect contact, through their associates, with members of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.</strong></li><li><strong>Vekselberg, meanwhile, is one of six Russians aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin who attended Trump's inaugural celebrations in January 2017. </strong></li><li><strong>Two of his US associates donated a combined $1.25 million to Trump's inaugural committee.</strong></li></ul><hr /><p>The laundry list of names included in the US' <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-russia-sanctions-putin-loyalists-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">latest round of sanctions</a> against Russia leaves no doubt that the US is targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest associates as the Kremlin ramps up its aggression around the globe.</p><p>But three names in particular stand out from the list: Oleg Deripaska, Viktor Vekselberg, and Alexander Torshin:</p><ul><li>Deripaska and Vekselberg were two out of seven oligarchs closely tied to Putin who were sanctioned.</li><li>The others are <span>Kirill Shamalov, Suleiman Kerimov, Andrei Skoch, Igor Rotenberg, and Vladimir Bogdanov.</span></li><li>Torshin was included on a list of 17 senior Russian government officials who were penalized and had their assets frozen.</li><li>Torshin and Deripaska are known to have been in indirect contact with members of President Donald Trump's campaign through their associates during the 2016 election.</li><li>Vekselberg was one of six Putin-allied Russians who attended Trump's inaugural festivities in January 2017 after he won the election in a shocking upset.</li><li>Two of his US associates donated a combined $1.25 million to Trump's inaugural committee, and he also has business ties to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.</li></ul><h2><span>Deripaska's ties to Paul Manafort draw scrutiny</span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58d3dbebd349f914038b65db-1280/gettyimages-524993070.jpg" border="0" alt="Paul Manafort" data-mce-source="Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Paul Manafort" /><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Paul Manafort</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Deripaska has drawn significant attention over the last year for his ties to Paul Manafort, the former chairman of President Donald Trump's campaign.</span></p><p>The Russian-Ukrainian billionaire and aluminum magnate is a longtime ally of the Kremlin. Manafort's relationship with Deripaska, meanwhile, stretches back years and relates to the two men's work pushing pro-Russian interests on the world stage.</p><p>Things haven't always been rosy between them. Deripaska's representatives claimed, in legal complaints filed in the Cayman Islands in 2014, that Manafort had disappeared after Deripaska gave him and his longtime associate Rick Gates $19 million to invest in a failed Ukrainian TV venture in 2007.</p><p>Last year, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/manafort-offered-to-give-russian-billionaire-private-briefings-on-2016-campaign/2017/09/20/399bba1a-9d48-11e7-8ea1-ed975285475e_story.html?utm_term=.eed675e5cd78" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on emails between Manafort and former Russian intelligence officer Konstantin Kilimnik that raised questions about a possible quid pro quo in which Manafort may have pushed a pro-Russia campaign platform to pay off his debt to Deripaska.</p><p>Beginning in April 2016, Manafort offered to give Deripaska "private briefings" about the Trump campaign and asked Kilimnik how he could use his elevated role in the campaign to "get whole" with Deripaska, according to The Post.</p><p>At the end of July, Kilimnik <span>wrote in an email to Manafort that he had "met today with the guy who gave you your biggest black caviar jar several years ago," a reference to Deripaska's previous loans to Manafort. "We spent about 5 hours talking about his story, and I have several important messages from him to you," he wrote.</span></p><p><span>Three days later, Manafort and Kilimnik met in New Jersey. Manafort said he and Kilimnik discussed the Trump campaign and the hack of the Democratic National Committee during the August 2, 2016, meeting. Kilimnik said they did not discuss the campaign, but talked about "current <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword>" and "unpaid bills."</span></p><p><span>Last week, Vice News reported that a private jet linked to Deripaska <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/oleg-deripaska-jet-arrived-in-us-after-manafort-kilimnik-meeting-2018-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrived in New Jersey</a> shortly after the meeting between Manafort and Kilimnik.</span></p><h2>The energy tycoon whose associates donated over $1 million to Trump's inauguration</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58d2b281d349f9290d8b56b0-2400/rtswlyp.jpg" border="0" alt="President Donald Trump at his inauguration." data-mce-source="Thomson Reuters" data-mce-caption="President Donald Trump at his inauguration." /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">President Donald Trump at his inauguration.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Vekselberg, the Russian energy mogul who was another one of the seven oligarchs who were targeted, has not attracted the same level of media scrutiny as Deripaska, but he is no less influential.</p><p>Vekselberg is the founder of the Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate with a range of interests in Russia's energy sector. Vekselberg frequently meets with the Russian leader to discuss business.</p><p><span>This week, there was significant speculation that Vekselberg may have been among at least three Russian oligarchs who were <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/mueller-team-questions-russian-oligarchs-donations-trump-campaign-inauguration-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">questioned</a> in connection with the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.</span></p><p><span>Mueller's focus on Russian oligarchs comes as investigators are looking into whether wealthy Russians illegally funneled money, either directly or indirectly, into Trump's campaign or inauguration. Prosecutors are also said to be interested in whether wealthy Russians used American donors or US companies with political action committees to infuse money into the election.</span></p><p>Vekselberg was one of at least six Putin-allied Russians who attended Trump's inaugural celebrations in January 2017. Citing federal filings, The Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/amid-trumps-inaugural-festivities-members-of-russias-elite-anticipated-a-thaw-between-moscow-and-washington/2018/01/20/0d767f46-fb9f-11e7-ad8c-ecbb62019393_story.html?utm_term=.68da43f80a06" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that two of Vekselberg's US associates donated a combined $1.25 million to Trump's inaugural committee.</p><p><span>Last year, Mother Jones <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/a-putin-friendly-oligarchs-top-us-executive-donated-285000-to-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Renova Group partnered with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to take over the Bank of Cyprus. Democratic lawmakers sent Ross a list of questions during his confirmation hearings in February 2017 about his relationship with Vekselberg. He has not answered them.</span></p><h2><span>'President Putin's emissary' in the US</span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a63ff0500d0efce358b4a24-844/ap061019010216.jpg" border="0" alt="alexander torshin" data-mce-source="AP" data-mce-caption="Alexander Torshin." /><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">Alexander Torshin.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p>Torshin, the Russian banker and politician who was one of the 17 senior Russian government officials hit with sanctions on Friday, is currently under investigation by the FBI, which is looking into whether he illegally funneled money into the National Rifle Association.</p><p>The NRA said it<span> </span><a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/outsidespending/detail.php?cmte=National%20Rifle%20Assn&amp;cycle=2016">spent a record $55 million</a><span> </span>on the 2016 elections, most of which came from a sector of the organization that isn't required to disclose its donors. About $30 million of that was spent on backing Trump or opposing the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.</p><p>The NRA has emphasized - and news reports have confirmed - that Torshin, not the organization, is under investigation by the FBI.</p><p>Torshin attended the NRA's convention every year from 2012 to 2016 - occasionally with Maria Butina, his longtime assistant and spokesperson - and has met every NRA president since 2012,<span> </span><a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/03/01/590076949/depth-of-russian-politicians-cultivation-of-nra-ties-revealed">according to NPR</a>.</p><p>Torshin's NRA credentials earned him a post as an election monitor during the November 2012 race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.</p><p>Butina, meanwhile, has been cultivating her own ties with American gun-rights advocates, like the Republican strategist Paul Erickson, with whom she has been acquainted since at least 2013.</p><p>Erickson invited scrutiny last year when<span> </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/03/us/politics/trump-putin-russia-nra-campaign.html">reports emerged that he tried to arrange a back-door meeting</a><span> </span>between Trump and Putin, with Torshin acting as "President Putin's emissary on this front." Butina made a similar request to the Trump campaign through another right-wing advocate.</p><p>Neither Trump nor his campaign are known to have entertained the request. Torshin and Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, attended a separate NRA dinner the same night.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-1999-russian-apartment-bombings-led-to-putins-rise-to-power-2018-3">How a series of deadly Russian apartment bombings in 1999 led to Putin's rise to power</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/l7umpvvi-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

You Searched For "suleiman kerimov" and got 4 results

The lobbyist at Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting may have stronger links to the Kremlin than we knew

Sonam Sheth

The Trump administration targets Putin's inner circle with new Russia sanctions

Sonam Sheth

'Putin will be pissed off': The US's latest round of sanctions hit Russia where it hurts

Sonam Sheth

The 3 biggest names on the latest Russia sanctions list have all popped up on the FBI's radar

Sonam Sheth