Thread by @dcpoll

Confidential doc shows that sanctions on Deripaska's firms are weaker than advertised and Trump admin's sanctions relief deal frees him of huge debt by transferring shares to Russian govt-owned VTB bank while he & his allies retain majority stake.
#Maddow nyti.ms/2HpIgx2

Speaking of VTB Bank...A former Russian GRU officer helped Cohen & Sater arrange financing for Trump Tower Moscow with VTB. Bank CEO Kostin [whose son was Deputy Chairman of Deutsche Bank's Russian Management Board] denied involvement Trump's project.

https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/984915973747740673

https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/974407275300511745

Per the confidential doc, the Trump admin's sanctions relief deal allows Deripaska to “divest” 21M shares of his main firm [EN+] to HIS OWN foundation [Volnoe Delo].

Volnoe Delo + Deripaska + his ex-wife + her father = 57% of [EN+]
by @kenvogel #Maddow

https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/1087467790573932545

Trump admin's deal also lifts sanctions on Deripaska's firm, RUSAL, 22.5% of which is owned by his pals:
• Russian oligarch Vekselberg - attended Trump inaugural & under Mueller scrutiny
• Russian born Blavatnik - gave $1M to Trump inaugural
#Maddow

https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/1087452827742584832

ICYMI: During the 2016 election, billionaire Len Blavatnik [business partner of Russian oligarch Vekselberg & Manafort-linked Deripaska and Russian gov't bank VTB] gave $6.35M to top GOP leaders, including McConnell, Rubio & GRAHAM.
#Maddow

https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/941793346565091328

FYI: Soviet-born billionaire Len Blavatnik [business partner of Russian oligarch Vekselberg & Manafort-linked Deripaska], who will profit from Trump admin's sanctions relief deal on Deripaska's RUSAL, is the former business partner of Sec Mnuchin.
#Maddow bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Chris Burnham, a former managing director and vice chairman at Deutsche Bank who served on Trump's transition team, was named as 1 of 7 new directors for Oleg Deripaska's company EN+ right after the Trump admin lifted sanctions on Jan 19, 2019.
#Maddow

https://twitter.com/kenvogel/status/1089671487248834566

House Intel Cmte member @RepSpeier is probing whether Steve Mnuchin had a conflict of interest in Treasury’s deal to lift sanctions on Deripaska's companies, which benefitted former Mnuchin business partner, Blavatnik.
buzzfeednews.com/article/emmalo… via @LoopEmma

https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/1087871958958641153

Speier is probing Mnuchin’s involvement with Oleg Deripaska's business partner, Ukrainian-born billionaire Len Blavatnik, with whom Mnuchin owned a Hollywood film company and to whom he sold his shares for approximately $25M in 2017.
by @LoopEmma #Maddow buzzfeednews.com/article/emmalo…

House Intelligence Cmte member @RepSpeier is probing whether Steve Mnuchin had a conflict of interest in Treasury’s deal to lift Russian sanctions on Oleg Deripaska's companies, a deal which benefitted Mnuchin's former business partner, Blavatnik.
#Maddow

https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/1090344510293450753