The Russian 'bank' whose boss met with Jared Kushner keeps popping up as the Trump-Putin story unfolds
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Three letters keep appearing in stories about Russia's role in the US Presidential election - and possible links between Moscow and the Trump campaign: VEB.
- Last year, the Justice Department said a man who pleaded guilty to spying for the Russian government entered the country posing as an employee of VEB. VEB, incidentally, paid his legal fees.
- In December, President Trump's son-in-law and presidential adviser Jared Kushner met VEB's Chairman in New York.
- And last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that VEB helped fund construction of the president's 65-story Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto. The Russian entity bought $850 million of stock in a Ukrainian steelmaker from the billionaire Russian-Canadian developer Alexander Shnaider, who was constructing the hotel at the time.
VEB is shorthand for Vnesheconombank - an entity that's often referred to as a "bank" even though it's more often compared to a slush fund for Russian President Vladimir Putin. VEB, for example, reportedly financed loss-making loans to the eastern sections of occupied Ukraine, as well wayward construction projects for Sochi Olympics that have already since been abandoned. Thomson Reuters
And Sergey Gorkov - the man Jared Kushner met in December - was handpicked to run it in 2016 by Putin himself. Gorkov is a graduate of Russia's secret service academy, which produced a number of oligarchs who made fortunes during the chaos of post-Soviet Russia, including Putin himself. It is funded directly by Russia's federal budget, which has sometimes meant operating in suboptimal financial conditions but also ties the bank directly to the country's leadership.
The bank's board is composed of top government officials including Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Kushner's meeting with Gorkov came before Trump had been inaugurated, but - of course - after he was elected. And it took place while VEB was facing US sanctions over Russia's invasion of Crimea. The bank is being sanctioned exactly because of the above connections, in effect making it a branch of the Russian foreign policy and intelligence apparatus.
Kushner is going to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss his meeting with the VEB's chairman and other issues, including secret meetings with the Russian ambassador and suspected spy chief Sergey Kislyak.
When that will happen though, is still unknown.
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- 9 health benefits of drinking sugarcane juice in summer
- 10 benefits of incorporating almond oil into your daily diet
- From heart health to detoxification: 10 reasons to eat beetroot
- Why did a NASA spacecraft suddenly start talking gibberish after more than 45 years of operation? What fixed it?
- ICICI Bank shares climb nearly 5% after Q4 earnings; mcap soars by ₹36,555.4 crore
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market