“The Wall Street Journal” reports that U.S. authorities are investigating a member of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle for money-laundering.
In a November 5 report, the prominent financial newspaper said the U.S. Justice Department and New York state prosecutors are investigating whether Russian billioinaire Gennady Timchenko transferred funds linked to allegedly corrupt deals in Russia through the U.S. financial system.
The report said prosecutors were "probing transactions in which the Geneva-based commodities firm Mr. Timchenko founded, Gunvor Group, purchased oil" from Russia's state-controlled oil giant Rosneft "and later sold it to third parties."
The report also said that "investigators have in recent months requested information about the prices Gunvor charged."
Timchenko was among the first powerful businessmen in Putin’s inner circle to be hit by U.S. sanctions in March over Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea Penninsula.
