Quincy News: FBI warned of Russian Intelligence Links to Oligarch in Cohen payment allegation

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Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Russian billionaire oligarch Viktor Vekselberg
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– News from elsewhere covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

FBI warned of Russian intelligence links to oligarch in Cohen payment allegation.

The FBI warned four years ago that a foundation controlled by the Russian oligarch who allegedly reimbursed Donald Trump’s personal lawyer might have been acting on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services.

Untouchables
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FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Lucia Ziobro wrote an unusual column in the Boston Business Journal in April of 2014 to warn that the Skolkovo Foundation, which is controlled by Russian billionaire energy baron Viktor Vekselberg, might be part of a clandestine Moscow-based espionage campaign that sought to siphon up American science and technology.

Michael Avenatti, an American lawyer suing President Trump and his personal attorney Michael Cohen, released a document on Tuesday charging that Vekselberg might have reimbursed Cohen for the payment he made to Avenatti’s client, porn actress Stormy Daniels. Avenatti’s document has not been fully verified but important aspects of it have been confirmed.

Andrey Shtorkh, a spokesman for Vekselberg, did not respond to a request for comment.

Always – ALWAYS – follow the money
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The FBI also did not respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. subsidiary of the company that Vekselberg controls has acknowledged making payments to Cohen, but it denied that it served as a pass-through for Vekselberg or anyone else outside the United States trying to funnel money to him.