Representative of Russian oligarch Deripaska threatens Manafort with 'legal consequences'
There will be “serious legal consequences” for former head of Donald Trump’s electoral campaign Paul Manafort for “manipulating the investments” of Rusal president Oleg Deripaska. A representative of the Russian oligarch made such a comment with respect to NBC’s story on Manafort’s financial ties to Deripaska, Interfax reports.
Deripaska has business contacts “with anyone and anywhere… exclusively in the interests of his business” the businessman’s representative added.
In his opinion, NBC’s goal was to “support the hysteria and make its own contribution to the development of the Russian conspiracy theory, whose investigation is coming to a standstill. He noted that Deripaska, wanting to “bring the truth to this discussion”, offered to appear before a congressional committee. According to the representative, congress “invented the condition – which was never put forward by Deripaska – regarding the alleged need to grant him immunity” and then rejected his offer. “It isn’t even clear what this immunity would have been needed for,” Deripaska’s representative said.
As reported by NBC, the deals made by Deripaska and Manafort amounted to a total of $60 million.
This includes a loan of $26 million given by Deripaska’s Oguster Management Ltd. to Manafort’s Yiakora Ventures Ltd. In addition, Oguster Management Ltd. also gave a $7 million loan to another firm, LOAV Advisers Ltd., which the TV channel connects to the former head of Trump’s electoral staff. According to NBC, this loan had no concrete repayment date, and was given with no guarantor or deposit. A third tranche amounting to $27 million was made to another company related to Manafort – Jesand LLC.
The story that Deripaska agreed to collaborate with congress in exchange for full immunity from possible prosecution was reported by The New York Times with reference to a source in parliament.
Deripaska’s representative confirmed to RBC news agency that the Russian businessman has contact with the former head of Trump’s electoral staff, but claims that he acted as a consultant in matters of an “investment nature”.
The Kremlin and the White House dispute Deripaska’s ties to Manafort.