Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska seeks immunity to testify to Congress

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This was published 6 years ago

Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska seeks immunity to testify to Congress

By Barry Meier and Jesse Drucker
Updated

Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch once close to President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, has offered to cooperate with congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, but lawmakers are unwilling to accept his conditions, according to congressional officials.

Deripaska's offer comes amid increased attention to his ties to Paul Manafort, who is one of several Trump associates under FBI scrutiny for possible collusion with Russia during the presidential campaign.

The two men did business together in the mid-2000s, when Manafort, a Republican operative, was also providing campaign advice to Kremlin-backed politicians in Ukraine. Their relationship subsequently soured and devolved into a lawsuit.

Deripaska, an aluminum magnate who is a member of the inner circle of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, recently offered to cooperate with congressional intelligence committees in exchange for a grant of full immunity, according to three congressional officials.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska in Kstovo, in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, shakes hands with Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska in Kstovo, in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region. Credit: AP

But the Senate and House panels turned him down because of concerns that immunity agreements create complications for federal criminal investigators, the officials said.

Deripaska, who lives in Moscow, has long had difficulty travelling to the United States. The State Department has refused to issue him a business visa because of concerns over allegations that he was connected to organised crime, according to a former US government official, which Deripaska has denied.

But he was able to enter the country in another way during that period, according to previously undisclosed court documents. Deripaska came to the United States eight times between 2011 and 2014 with government permission as a Russian diplomat, according to affidavits he gave in a little-noticed lawsuit in a Manhattan court.

Deripaska said in the court papers that his visits were brief and made in connection with meetings of the G-20 and the United Nations, not to conduct business.

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Oleg Deripaska, billionaire and president of United Co. Rusal.

Oleg Deripaska, billionaire and president of United Co. Rusal.Credit: Bloomberg

The court documents and public records show that Deripaska, whose companies have long had offices in New York, has expanded his American holdings over the past 10 years, buying high-priced Manhattan town houses and a major stake in a Russian-language newspaper in New York.

The lawsuit was brought by Alexander Gliklad, a Russian-born businessman, who charged that Deripaska had used his diplomatic status as a cover to do business, which the oligarch denied.

Gliklad claims he is entitled to collect funds that Deripaska had agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit with a man who owed Gliklad money from a court judgment. Last month, a New York state Supreme Court justice rejected Gliklad's argument that the Manhattan court had jurisdiction over Deripaska.

As Manafort's dealings with Russia-friendly Ukrainian politicians, business activities and loans have come under examination in recent months, his former client has gotten caught up in the media scrutiny. The two men were partners in an offshore fund set up in 2007 to buy telecommunications and cable television assets in Ukraine, where Manafort had advised then-President Viktor F. Yanukovych. That deal fell apart, winding up in litigation in the Cayman Islands.

In March, Deripaska took out newspaper ads stating that he was willing to participate in hearings before Congress after The Associated Press published a report alleging that Manafort had provided him with a plan in 2005 outlining steps to "greatly benefit the Putin government," by influencing politics and news coverage in the United States.

Deripaska has denied ever entering into such an arrangement and sued The AP for libel last month. The news organisation has said it stands by its article. Manafort has denied that his work for the oligarch was aimed at aiding the Russian government.

There are no indications thus far that the FBI is seeking to interview Deripaska as part of the continuing investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election.

Lawyers at the firm representing Deripaska in the libel action, did not respond to a request for comment about his offer to cooperate with congressional investigators. Adam Waldman, a Washington lobbyist representing Deripaska, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

For years, Putin complained about the State Department's refusal to issue Deripaska a visa. "They give us nothing, explain to us nothing, and forbid him from entry," Putin told the French newspaper Le Monde in 2008.

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It is considered difficult to deny diplomatic visas to people carrying the proper credentials issued by their own countries. A State Department spokesman, William B. Cocks, said he could not discuss individual visa issues, citing confidentiality. But speaking generally, he said diplomats coming to the United States received a special visa while foreigners doing business in this country needed a business visa.

New York Times

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