Russian oligarch Deripaska offers $600,000 reward to journalists who investigate sanctions against him
The oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s lawyers plan to set up a 600 thousand dollars reward for journalists who will investigate why the United States imposed sanctions against the Russian businessman, writes The Financial Times, citing its own sources.
According to the international daily newspaper, Deripaska, the founder of one of Russia's largest industrial groups, intends to refute the charges, which the United States used to impose restrictive measures against him.
“Congress craves more blood ... but it does not have the slightest idea about what is happening in Russia or anywhere else in the world. There are neither facts nor evidence for inclusion in the sanctions list, only filthy lies,” said the businessman.
In mid-March, Deripaska filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of the Treasury due to the introduction of restrictive measures, which, according to the businessman, cost him more than 7.5 billion dollars.
Sanctions against Deripaska were imposed on April 6, 2018. The Ministry of Finance based this decision due to the businessman’s close relations with President Vladimir Putin. He was also accused of money laundering, threats to his competitors’ lives, illegal tapping of a government official phone, as well as the involvement in the extortion and racketeering.
Deripaska calls himself "a victim of the United States domestic political struggle."
In late January, the United States lifted sanctions on Deripaska's Rusal, EN + and Eurosibenergo companies. To achieve this result, at the request of the Ministry of Finance, he surrendered the controlling stakes in enterprises, left executive positions and allowed independent directors joined the boards of directors.