This week on KI.org: Marius Laurinavičius discussed how Europe can help defend U.S. democracy, and why we should remain engaged in Europe.
U.S.
- Former Trump administration pick, who bowed out following a plagiarism scandal, registered as a foreign agent for Ukrainian billionaire oligarch Victor Pinchuk. (The Hill)
- Members of the Committee on Financial Services called on their chairman to investigate Deutsche Bank’s Russian money laundering scheme. (Guardian)
- A U.S. congressman introduced legislation to strengthen safeguards against foreign bribery. (FACT Coalition)
- A company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, stands to receive more than $400 million from a prominent Chinese company, Anbang Insurance Group, for a Manhattan office tower; Anbang’s murky links to the Chinese power structure have raised national security concerns over its U.S. investments. (Bloomberg)
- The New Yorker examines why Michael Flynn registered his lobbying activities under LDA instead of FARA–and what work exactly he did for Turkey.
UK
- The UK government is setting up a new anti-money laundering watchdog in an effort to crack down on ill-gotten gains and dirty money. (Financial Times)
Europe
- French authorities searched a villa on the Cote d’Azur, allegedly belonging to Russian senator Suleiman Kerimov. The search took place as part of an investigation into the acquisition of real estate in France. Kerimov is one of the largest owners of real estate on the Cote d’Azur; his family heads the companies Nafta Moscow and Polyus Gold, and since 2008, Kerimov has represented Dagestan in Russia’s Federation Council. (Nice-Matin, in French)
Russia
- The Daily Beast analyzed how investigative reporters are using social media posts to reveal the corruption of officials in Russia who live lives of excess.
- A fellow at Chatham House argued that Western sanctions imposed on Russian leadership are merely helping them ride out the poor economic situation in Russia.
- A Putin ally purchased a black sea oyster farm that is linked to the president. (Moscow Times)
