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The Spanish connection with Trumps Russia scandal (El Pais, English version)
Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia and investigated in Spain for money laundering, has infiltrated the US president’s circle
On February 1, Alexander Porfirievich Torshin, 63, a Russian politician and banker who is close to Vladimir Putin and whom the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor and the Civil Guard define in their reports as a godfather from a notorious Russian mafia organization, had in his diary for the next day an appointment to meet in Washington with the world’s most powerful man: Donald Trump. The encounter was due to take place before an official and well-attended breakfast meeting, which Torshin attended as the head of a Russian delegation. The meeting was canceled that very night, according to sources from the White House, given the wave of criticism in the US press related to the influence of certain Russian circles in President Trump’s power teams. But the information reveals the heights to which this person, who has been investigated by the Spanish authorities, had reached in his rise to the upper echelons of the American leader’s circle.
Torshin, who is currently the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, has met with one of the children of the US president, has close links with the organization that provided the most money for Trump’s election campaign, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and attended the aforementioned breakfast that Donald Trump presided over in the White House in February.
The Spanish reports describe Torshin as a “godfather” of a Russian mafia group
The high-ranking official from the Central Bank of Russia has long been on the radar of the Spanish public prosecutor and the Civil Guard. He was on the brink of being arrested in Palma de Mallorca in the summer of 2013 during a meeting with a mafioso – who has just been sentenced in Spain – but he didn’t turn up to the meeting. A unit consisting of 12 officers was awaiting him at the airport and in a hotel, where he was expected to arrive accompanied by other people being investigated in a money-laundering ring. The Russian Federation’s Prosecutor General, aware that Torshin was being investigated, requested information about the case on at least two occasions, but received no response from the Spanish authorities given that the investigation was sealed.
His case constitutes another element in the laying of the foundation for the FBI investigation currently being conducted into the influence of the Russian government in the outcome of the US presidential elections last year. The political offensive by Torshin appears to form part of a strategy by the Kremlin aimed at influencing the internal policies of the United States. One of the most spectacular results of this apparent strategy was the mass hack of the internal communications of the campaign for Hillary Clinton, Trump’s rival, which was made public by WikiLeaks, according to the US intelligence services. Over the last year, a number of trusted allies of Trump have been forced to resign given their shady contacts with Russia. The most recent was his national security advisor, Michael Flynn, on February 13.
The difference in the case of Torshin is that for the first time, a Russian mafia boss – at least one identified as such by the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor – is within the circle of support of the new president of the United States.
One of Putin’s trusted allies
There is no evidence that leads to the conclusion that Alexander Torshin is currently working for Putin’s intelligence services. But there are certain links. According to sources from the British intelligence services with whom EL PAÍS has spoken, Torshin has formed part of a select anti-terrorist committee from the Russian government, over which the chief of the Federal Security Service – formerly known as the KGB – presides.
But there can be no doubt that Putin trusts Torshin: he occupies a delicate and powerful post in the Central Bank, he is one of the main voices of United Russia in the senate, he was chosen as the head of a Russian delegation to the White House, and he is a member of a government committee dedicated to the fight against drug trafficking. What’s more, Putin tasked him with an extremely sensitive mission in 2005, at a time of high political risk for the Russian president: as the head of the parliamentary commission that investigated the response of the security forces to the terrorist attack in Beslan.
It was in September 2004 when a 30-strong terrorist group seized a school in Beslan, in North Ossetia, taking all of the teachers and students hostage. The siege ended three days later with the intervention of the Russian security forces, and the deaths of 331 people, 186 of whom were children. In Russia the incident sparked bitter controversy over the competence of the security forces and shook confidence in the Kremlin.
To end this controversy, Putin assigned a parliamentary commission to investigate the incident, and put Torshin in charge of it. His report, which was made public in December 2005, absolved the national security forces and blamed the local authorities in Beslan for not having done enough to contain the tragedy.
On February 1, Alexander Porfirievich Torshin, 63, a Russian politician and banker who is close to Vladimir Putin and whom the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor and the Civil Guard define in their reports as a godfather from a notorious Russian mafia organization, had in his diary for the next day an appointment to meet in Washington with the world’s most powerful man: Donald Trump. The encounter was due to take place before an official and well-attended breakfast meeting, which Torshin attended as the head of a Russian delegation. The meeting was canceled that very night, according to sources from the White House, given the wave of criticism in the US press related to the influence of certain Russian circles in President Trump’s power teams. But the information reveals the heights to which this person, who has been investigated by the Spanish authorities, had reached in his rise to the upper echelons of the American leader’s circle.
Torshin, who is currently the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, has met with one of the children of the US president, has close links with the organization that provided the most money for Trump’s election campaign, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and attended the aforementioned breakfast that Donald Trump presided over in the White House in February.
The Spanish reports describe Torshin as a “godfather” of a Russian mafia group
The high-ranking official from the Central Bank of Russia has long been on the radar of the Spanish public prosecutor and the Civil Guard. He was on the brink of being arrested in Palma de Mallorca in the summer of 2013 during a meeting with a mafioso – who has just been sentenced in Spain – but he didn’t turn up to the meeting. A unit consisting of 12 officers was awaiting him at the airport and in a hotel, where he was expected to arrive accompanied by other people being investigated in a money-laundering ring. The Russian Federation’s Prosecutor General, aware that Torshin was being investigated, requested information about the case on at least two occasions, but received no response from the Spanish authorities given that the investigation was sealed.
His case constitutes another element in the laying of the foundation for the FBI investigation currently being conducted into the influence of the Russian government in the outcome of the US presidential elections last year. The political offensive by Torshin appears to form part of a strategy by the Kremlin aimed at influencing the internal policies of the United States. One of the most spectacular results of this apparent strategy was the mass hack of the internal communications of the campaign for Hillary Clinton, Trump’s rival, which was made public by WikiLeaks, according to the US intelligence services. Over the last year, a number of trusted allies of Trump have been forced to resign given their shady contacts with Russia. The most recent was his national security advisor, Michael Flynn, on February 13.
The difference in the case of Torshin is that for the first time, a Russian mafia boss – at least one identified as such by the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor – is within the circle of support of the new president of the United States.
One of Putin’s trusted allies
There is no evidence that leads to the conclusion that Alexander Torshin is currently working for Putin’s intelligence services. But there are certain links. According to sources from the British intelligence services with whom EL PAÍS has spoken, Torshin has formed part of a select anti-terrorist committee from the Russian government, over which the chief of the Federal Security Service – formerly known as the KGB – presides.
But there can be no doubt that Putin trusts Torshin: he occupies a delicate and powerful post in the Central Bank, he is one of the main voices of United Russia in the senate, he was chosen as the head of a Russian delegation to the White House, and he is a member of a government committee dedicated to the fight against drug trafficking. What’s more, Putin tasked him with an extremely sensitive mission in 2005, at a time of high political risk for the Russian president: as the head of the parliamentary commission that investigated the response of the security forces to the terrorist attack in Beslan.
It was in September 2004 when a 30-strong terrorist group seized a school in Beslan, in North Ossetia, taking all of the teachers and students hostage. The siege ended three days later with the intervention of the Russian security forces, and the deaths of 331 people, 186 of whom were children. In Russia the incident sparked bitter controversy over the competence of the security forces and shook confidence in the Kremlin.
To end this controversy, Putin assigned a parliamentary commission to investigate the incident, and put Torshin in charge of it. His report, which was made public in December 2005, absolved the national security forces and blamed the local authorities in Beslan for not having done enough to contain the tragedy.
The rest here :
https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/03/31/inenglish/1490984556_409827.html
It is a bit long, but really interesting.
