New details about how Russian leaders hide their money have come to light, which is surprising considering that a potential leak of this information seemed to have been stopped by murder only a few months ago. Mikhail Lesin was found dead in Washington D.C. on November 5, 2015. Mr. Lesin was very influential in helping Russian President Vladimir Putin use the media to come to power. After mysteriously being dismissed by the Kremlin, he came to America. Speculation revolved around his ability to shed light on the financial workings of Putin’s inner circle. However what he knew never came to light as he was found dead in Washington D.C. due to blunt force injuries in his hotel room.

The death of one of Putin’s closest advisors was not enough to keep these secret dealings hidden. Recent leaks from the infamous Panama Papers have allowed us to learn a great amount of information about how Putin and his friends have been hiding money. Surprisingly, the chairman of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, John Podesta may be involved with these revelations. The hidden deals of a secretive law firm named Mossack Fonseca have revealed that Tony Podesta, John Podesta’s brother, was registered to work as a lobbyist for Sberbank, a Russian bank sanction by the U.S. Treasury Department. According to the registration form he would be helping with “banking, trade, and foreign relationships.” John Podesta himself is the co-founder of the company in question. This could be serious if they did not have explicit permission from the U.S. government to deal with a bank facing U.S. sanctions.

 

Sberbank faced sanctions as part of U.S. President Obama’s response to Russia’s involvement in Ukraine and Crimea. The bank was chosen based on a belief they were involved in helping Putin’s inner circle hide money. The leaked Panama Papers confirm this theory. One clear example involves Sergei Roldugin, the godfather of one of Putin’s daughters. The International Consortium of Journalists recently reported that “offshore companies affiliated with Putin’s friend, [Sergei Roldugin] had privileged rights to control large stakes in strategic Russian enterprises, to receive dividends, and to buy these stakes for laughable sums.”

While the information in the Mossak Fonseca documents are not enough to state that any laws have been broken by the Podesta family, they do make it clear that they are working for a Russian Bank facing both sanctions and scrutiny over dubious financial practices. We will provide any updates as they become available.