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A billionaire and a Russia-controlled bank named in the Panama Papers have links to Hillary Clinton through two separate lobbying firms â one through the Podesta Group and another through Sidney Blumenthal.
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Hillary Clinton is linked to Sberbank, Russiaâs largest bank, through Podesta Group, a lobbying firm co-founded by Clintonâs 2016 campaign chairman John Podesta and his brother, Tony Podesta, a major Clinton bundler.
Sberbank registered with the Podesta Group to lobby on issues related to economic sanctions against Russia and on stock and bond trading for its U.S. clients. https://soprweb.senate.gov/index.cfm?event=getFilingDetails&filingID=8a5bd4fb-2687-4cdf-9906-0a65f4d8d52b&filingTypeID=1
Bidzina Ivanishvili, a Georgian billionaire and former PM of the Caucasus state, is also named in the Panama Papers, which is believed to be the largest leaks of financial documents in history.
A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ivanishvili appeared in the Hillary Clinton email dump through her longtime friend Sidney Blumenthal.
Blumenthal, who played middle-man for Clinton, passed along a memo from Ivanishvili ahead of the 2012 Georgian elections.
Ivanishvili was head of the Georgian Dream party, which ousted then-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a U.S. ally.
https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail_NovWeb/271/DOC_0C05792791/C05792791.pdf
Ivanishvili was head of the Georgian Dream party, which ousted then-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, a U.S. ally.
https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail_NovWeb/271/DOC_0C05792791/C05792791.pdf
Ivanishvili ended up serving as prime minister from Oct. 2012 through Nov. 2013.
Sberbank is named in a report from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), which was provided access to documents from the Panama Papers leak. https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/the-secret-caretaker/
Sberbank and a related company called Troika Dialog are linked to companies that members of Putinâs inner circle use to hide assets.
Troika Dialog, which is based in the Cayman Islands, is listed with Sberbank on its lobbying registration form with the Podesta Group.
Troika Dialog, which is based in the Cayman Islands, is listed with Sberbank on its lobbying registration form with the Podesta Group.
Ivanishvili is named in a separate report on the Panama Papers published by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. https://www.occrp.org/en/panamapapers/georgia-ivanishvili-offshore/
Worth an estimated $4.8 billion, Ivanishvili was required under Georgian law to disclose all of his financial assets as prime minister.
But he kept his control of an entity called Lynden Management off of those disclosures.
But he kept his control of an entity called Lynden Management off of those disclosures.
According to documents reviewed by OCCRP, Ivanishvili stalled for nearly four years to respond to Mossack Fonsecaâs request that he provide his passport to verify his address.
Ivanishvili was also at the center of a lobbying effort aimed at Clinton.
On Sept. 3, 2012, Blumenthal emailed his friend Hillary Clinton memos written by Ivanishvili and John Kornblum, an attorney who served as Bill Clintonâs ambassador to Germany. http://gawker.com/did-clintons-backdoor-adviser-illegally-lobby-for-putin-1693111549
On Sept. 3, 2012, Blumenthal emailed his friend Hillary Clinton memos written by Ivanishvili and John Kornblum, an attorney who served as Bill Clintonâs ambassador to Germany. http://gawker.com/did-clintons-backdoor-adviser-illegally-lobby-for-putin-1693111549
According to Blumenthalâs email, Kornblum was âworking with the political party in Georgia opposing Saakashvili.â
Kornblum made the case that the U.S. should consider distancing itself from Saakashvili. He also asserted that the regime was cracking down on opposition parties, such as the Ivanishvili-controlled Georgian Dream coalition.
âIf Saakshvili clearly steals the election, there could be public discontent, violence and maybe a âwag the dogâ scenario with Russia,â he added.
In a memo passed to Blumenthal through Kornblum, Ivanishvili urged Clinton to support Georgian Dream.
In a memo passed to Blumenthal through Kornblum, Ivanishvili urged Clinton to support Georgian Dream.
