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| Commerce pick Wilbur Ross questioned over bank's links to Trump and Russia | Commerce pick Wilbur Ross questioned over bank's links to Trump and Russia |
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| Donald Trump’s nominee to head the commerce department is facing intense scrutiny over whether the US president or his affiliates have ever received loans from a bank in Cyprus that is partly owned by a close ally of Vladimir Putin. | Donald Trump’s nominee to head the commerce department is facing intense scrutiny over whether the US president or his affiliates have ever received loans from a bank in Cyprus that is partly owned by a close ally of Vladimir Putin. |
| Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor who has served as vice-chairman of the Bank of Cyprus since 2014, has received two letters from senators demanding answers about possible links between the bank and current and former Trump administration and campaign officials. | Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor who has served as vice-chairman of the Bank of Cyprus since 2014, has received two letters from senators demanding answers about possible links between the bank and current and former Trump administration and campaign officials. |
| Ross, who has said he would step down from the bank after his final confirmation, has also been asked to provide more details about his own relationship with previous and current Russian investors in the bank, including Viktor Vekselberg, a longtime ally of the Russian president, and Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, the former vice-chairman of Bank of Cyprus who is also a former KGB agent with a close relationship to Putin. | |
| The Senate is expected to approve Ross’s nomination to lead the commerce department on Monday evening. He has not yet responded to the questions from the senators, according to Senate aides. | |
| An attorney for Ross said he was not handling the matter and referred questions about the letter to the commerce department, which declined to respond . | |
| The senators’ scrutiny of Ross’s ties to Bank of Cyprus comes as the Trump administration faces several investigations, including by the FBI, into possible links between Trump campaign officials and Russia. | The senators’ scrutiny of Ross’s ties to Bank of Cyprus comes as the Trump administration faces several investigations, including by the FBI, into possible links between Trump campaign officials and Russia. |
| The first letter, sent on 16 February, was led by Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, the top Democrat on the Senate commerce committee, and was co-signed by Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. | The first letter, sent on 16 February, was led by Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, the top Democrat on the Senate commerce committee, and was co-signed by Cory Booker of New Jersey, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. |
| Details of the letter and Ross’s refusal to answer it were first reported by McClatchy, the US news organisation. | Details of the letter and Ross’s refusal to answer it were first reported by McClatchy, the US news organisation. |
| Among other questions, the letter asked Ross if he was “aware of any contacts between any individuals currently or formerly associated with the Bank of Cyprus and anyone affiliated with the Trump presidential campaign or the Trump Organization”. It also asked whether Ross was “aware of any loans made by the Bank of Cyprus to the Trump Organization, its directors or officers, or any affiliated individuals or entities”. | |
| Ross also received a second letter with more specific questions from Senator Booker on Friday. In it, the New Jersey senator said the list of Russian businessmen with ties to both Putin and the Bank of Cyprus was “startling”. | Ross also received a second letter with more specific questions from Senator Booker on Friday. In it, the New Jersey senator said the list of Russian businessmen with ties to both Putin and the Bank of Cyprus was “startling”. |
| “The American public deserve to know the full extent of your connections with Russia and your knowledge of any ties between the Trump administration, Trump campaign or Trump Organization and the Bank of Cyprus,” Booker wrote. “Americans must have confidence that high-level officials in the United States government are not influenced by, or beholden to, any foreign power.” | “The American public deserve to know the full extent of your connections with Russia and your knowledge of any ties between the Trump administration, Trump campaign or Trump Organization and the Bank of Cyprus,” Booker wrote. “Americans must have confidence that high-level officials in the United States government are not influenced by, or beholden to, any foreign power.” |
| Among Booker’s list of 11 questions was a demand to know more about if – and when – Ross first learned about Strzhalkovsky’s ties to the KGB, and whether the former KGB official ever met Trump. | |
| Booker also asked Ross whether he had any knowledge about the 2008 purchase of Trump’s Palm Beach home by Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian billionaire and investor in Bank of Cyprus. The beach house was reportedly sold for $95m. | Booker also asked Ross whether he had any knowledge about the 2008 purchase of Trump’s Palm Beach home by Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian billionaire and investor in Bank of Cyprus. The beach house was reportedly sold for $95m. |
| Ross’s nomination to lead the commerce department has so far been relatively uncontroversial, in part because Ross is liked by Democrats and labour unions who credit the private equity investor with saving tens of thousand of jobs in the steel industry after buying up bankrupt steel companies in 2002. | Ross’s nomination to lead the commerce department has so far been relatively uncontroversial, in part because Ross is liked by Democrats and labour unions who credit the private equity investor with saving tens of thousand of jobs in the steel industry after buying up bankrupt steel companies in 2002. |
| But Ross’s 2014 investment in the Bank of Cyprus has received little public attention amid the broader concerns in Washington over the Trump administration’s potential ties to Russia. | But Ross’s 2014 investment in the Bank of Cyprus has received little public attention amid the broader concerns in Washington over the Trump administration’s potential ties to Russia. |
| During a nearly four-hour confirmation hearing in January before the Senate commerce committee, Ross was not asked any questions about his involvement in a €400m ($424m) investment in the bank in 2014, which gave Ross’s investment group an 18% stake in the bank. | During a nearly four-hour confirmation hearing in January before the Senate commerce committee, Ross was not asked any questions about his involvement in a €400m ($424m) investment in the bank in 2014, which gave Ross’s investment group an 18% stake in the bank. |
| Ross recruited a high-profile banker with close ties to Russia, former Deutsche Bank chief executive Josef Ackermann, to serve as chairman of the bank. In a 2015 interview with the New York Times, Ackermann suggested his work for the Bank of Cyprus was an effort to “give something back to the people”. | |
| In his letter, Booker asked Ross to explain why he had appointed Ackermann as chairman of the bank, noting that Deutsche Bank is the Trump Organization’s largest creditor. | In his letter, Booker asked Ross to explain why he had appointed Ackermann as chairman of the bank, noting that Deutsche Bank is the Trump Organization’s largest creditor. |
| Ross’s investment followed a controversial 2013 bailout of the bank at the height of the European debt crisis that was agreed by the EU, IMF and European Central Bank. At the time, the deal was scrutinised by German politicians who expressed concern that taxpayer funds were being used to bail out a money laundering haven used by Russian oligarchs. A German intelligence report cited by Der Spiegel at the time suggested that Russian deposits in Cyprus banks were worth between €8 to €35bn ($8.5 to $37bn). | Ross’s investment followed a controversial 2013 bailout of the bank at the height of the European debt crisis that was agreed by the EU, IMF and European Central Bank. At the time, the deal was scrutinised by German politicians who expressed concern that taxpayer funds were being used to bail out a money laundering haven used by Russian oligarchs. A German intelligence report cited by Der Spiegel at the time suggested that Russian deposits in Cyprus banks were worth between €8 to €35bn ($8.5 to $37bn). |
| This article was amended on 27 February 2017 to correct a misspelling of the word “Cyprus”, which was written as “Cypress” in a letter from senators | This article was amended on 27 February 2017 to correct a misspelling of the word “Cyprus”, which was written as “Cypress” in a letter from senators |