Word Association (2024)

[webfact]

U.S. Commerce chief Ross kept holdings in Russian-tied firm - reports

 

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross speaks to the Economic Club of New York in New York City, U.S., October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has kept investments in a shipping firm with significant business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, U.S. media reported on Sunday, citing leaked documents from an offshore law firm.

 

Partnerships used by Ross, a billionaire investor helping to shape President Donald Trump's trade policy, have a 31 percent stake in Navigator Holdings, which the New York Times said earns millions of dollars a year transporting gas for Russian petrochemical firm Sibur.

 

Gennady Timchenko, a Russian oligarch and Putin associate subject to U.S. sanctions, and Putin's son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, are Sibur stakeholders, said the Times, which based its report on files from Appleby, a prominent offshore law firm.

 

Reuters was unable to independently confirm the findings.In an emailed statement, a Department of Commerce spokesman said Ross "was not involved in Navigator's decision to engage in business with Sibur ... has never met the Sibur shareholders referenced in this story and, until now, did not know of their relationship."

 

He added that Sibur had not been under sanctions when Navigator began its relationship with the publicly-traded firm and still was not.

 

According to the Times, Sibur said in a statement that any negotiations with Navigator over the years were carried out by its executives, not its major shareholders, and that "no meetings were held with Mr. Ross."

 

Neither Navigator nor Appleby were immediately available for comment Sunday evening. Reuters could not immediately reach Timchenko and Shamalov for comment.

 

The Appleby files are part of the so-called Paradise Papers, a trove of leaked offshore investment documents. They were obtained by Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and some media outlets.

 

NBC also used the documents to report on Ross's investments.

 

Scrutiny of Trump administration officials' possible ties to Russia has intensified as a result of probes into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election.

 

U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump campaign officials colluded with Moscow. Putin's government has denied interfering in the election and Trump has denied any collusion with Russia.

 

In its report, the Times said Ross had kept the investment in Navigator, which increased its business dealings with Sibur even as Western nations sought to punish Russia’s energy sector over Putin's incursions into Ukraine.

 

Navigator was mentioned in Ross's 57-page public financial disclosure report filed in December, before he officially joined the Trump administration. The Times said the latest batch of documents provided more insight into his financial holdings.

 

"The Secretary recuses himself from matters focused on transoceanic shipping vessels," the Commerce Department spokesman's statement said, adding that Ross works closely with officials to ensure the "highest ethical standards."

 

QUEEN'S TAXES

 

Citing the Appleby documents, Britain's Guardian newspaper said millions of pounds from Queen Elizabeth's private estate, the Duchy of Lancaster, had been invested in a Cayman Islands fund as part of an offshore portfolio never before disclosed.

 

Reuters could not independently confirm the Guardian report.

 

The newspaper said the Duchy had used offshore private equity funds designed to shield investors in the United Kingdom from having to pay U.S. tax on their holdings.

 

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

 

A spokeswoman for the Duchy of Lancaster said: "We operate a number of investments and a few of these are with overseas funds. All of our investments are fully audited and legitimate."

 

The spokeswoman also said the Queen voluntarily pays tax on any income received from the Duchy.

 

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Additional reporting by Mike Holden and Andy MacAskill in London; Editing by Paul Simao and Mary Milliken)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-06

[tonray]

Drain the swamp so we can fit more lizards in it ?

[Berkshire]

The question is who in the Trump Administration "doesn't" have ties to Russia. 

[janclaes47]

5 minutes ago, Berkshire said:

The question is who in the Trump Administration "doesn't" have ties to Russia. 

 

The question is who in any government doesn't have shares in a company that has shares in a company that has shares in a Russian company.

[Credo]

58 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

 

The question is who in any government doesn't have shares in a company that has shares in a company that has shares in a Russian company.

The question is who has shares but doesn't declare them when required to by law.   

[janclaes47]

2 minutes ago, Credo said:

The question is who has shares but doesn't declare them when required to by law.   

You missed this one

 

Navigator was mentioned in Ross's 57-page public financial disclosure report filed in December, before he officially joined the Trump administration.

[Rancid]

3 hours ago, Berkshire said:

The question is who in the Trump Administration "doesn't" have ties to Russia. 

If they have corrupt ties they should be sacked and jailed. Now about that fishy and very profitable Clinton uranium deal with Russia that no one seems to want to talk about....

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

You missed this one

 

Navigator was mentioned in Ross's 57-page public financial disclosure report filed in December, before he officially joined the Trump administration.

 

It seems now that any tenuous link is blown up as corruption.

 

I'm going to ask any companies I have investments for full lists of all their shareholders; and investment vehicles and then check all their shareholders - just in case? I don't think so.

[craigt3365]

Ross has been under the microscope for some time.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-russia-connection-and-wilbur-ross-2017-5

Quote

These ties come in the form of his stake in, and co-directorship of, the Bank of Cyprus, a known conduit for Russian oligarch money. Ross also owns a shipping concern whose key client is a large shareholder of Russia’s state-owned oil firm. 

Ross bought his stake Bank of Cyprus 2014, becoming, according to the New York Times, "owner of a big but failing bank with a vice chairman who used to work with Vladimir Putin in the Leningrad KGB and five other Russians on its board."

 

This is the same bank that the Russian who did the 95 million dollar home sale with Trump is involved in as an investor.  Where there's smoke....

[mrwebb8825]

As soon as this story came out I had to laugh at the mental picture of nearly everyone in DC rushing to call their accountants to see if they too were linked to Russia some how. 

By the time they're finished there won't be an unlinked person left to push the witch hunt. And Trump will still be president. 

[ilostmypassword]

16 minutes ago, mrwebb8825 said:

As soon as this story came out I had to laugh at the mental picture of nearly everyone in DC rushing to call their accountants to see if they too were linked to Russia some how. 

By the time they're finished there won't be an unlinked person left to push the witch hunt. And Trump will still be president. 

We laugh at your mental pictures, too.