{"id":50988,"date":"2017-11-07T06:33:20","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T06:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=50988"},"modified":"2017-11-07T06:33:20","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T06:33:20","slug":"u-s-commerce-chief-says-he-is-likely-to-divest-russia-linked-shipping-stake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/business\/u-s-commerce-chief-says-he-is-likely-to-divest-russia-linked-shipping-stake.html","title":{"rendered":"U.S. commerce chief says he is likely to divest Russia-linked shipping stake"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. commerce chief says he is likely to divest Russia-linked shipping stake<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

U.S. commerce chief says he is likely to divest Russia-linked shipping stake: U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday he probably would not keep his holdings in a shipping company with business ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s inner circle and that he had fully and properly disclosed investments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pressed on whether he would retain the interest in Navigator Holdings, Ross told Bloomberg Television: \u201cI\u2019ve been actually selling it anyway, but that isn\u2019t because of this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ross, a billionaire investor who is helping to shape Republican President Donald Trump\u2019s trade policy, was criticized when several media outlets reported that he had failed to disclose that one of Navigator\u2019s clients is Russian gas and petrochemical company Sibur.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sibur\u2019s owners include Putin\u2019s son-in-law, Kirill Shamalov, and Gennady Timchenko, a Putin associate who is subject to U.S. Treasury sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n

The information is based on leaked documents from offshore law firm Appleby that are part of the so-called Paradise Papers, which show details of business dealings by wealthy people and institutions ranging from Ross to Britain\u2019s Queen Elizabeth and trading firm Glencore (GLEN.L). They were obtained by Germany\u2019s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and some media outlets and published on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reuters has not independently verified the documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Paradise Papers are the second release of its kind by the ICIJ, which last year published the \u201cPanama Papers,\u201d leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca that chronicled a shadowy world of offshore holdings and hidden wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ross said in multiple media interviews that he had fully disclosed his stake in Navigator Holdings as part of government ethics requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was disclosure, there is no impropriety and if people draw a contrary conclusion that\u2019s because the papers have twisted the story and made it into something that it\u2019s not there,\u201d Ross told the BBC.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. media said partnerships used by Ross have a 31 percent stake in Navigator Holdings, which was included in Ross\u2019 57-page public financial disclosure report filed in December, before he officially joined the Trump administration.<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, said Ross had deceived the public as well as lawmakers who had confirmed his appointment to Trump\u2019s Cabinet after he promised to divest holdings that posed conflicts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Blumenthal called for an investigation and hearings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf he fails to present a clear and compelling explanation, he ought to resign,\u201d Blumenthal told MSNBC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senate Commerce Committee spokesman Frederick Hill said that Ross\u2019 interest in Navigator was disclosed to the panel, but added: \u201cThe committee expects Secretary Ross will follow the advice of his department\u2019s ethics officials should there be a determination that any holding creates a conflict of interest.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Navigator did not come up at Ross\u2019 confirmation hearing in January, but he was asked about his decision to retain an interest in Diamond S Shipping, which operates 33 petroleum product tankers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ross said his research showed that no ocean shipping cases had ever come before the Commerce Department. Ocean shipping is regulated by the Federal Maritime Commission, an independent agency.<\/span><\/p>\n

But asked by Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell if he would look at additional areas for possible further recusals from potential conflicts of interest, Ross replied: \u201cI intend to be quite scrupulous about recusal in any topic where there is the slightest scintilla of a doubt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Scrutiny of any ties between Russia and Trump administration officials has intensified with investigations into allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election campaign and potential collusion by the Trump campaign. The Kremlin has denied such meddling and Trump has denied any collusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials from Navigator could not be reached for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Appleby released a statement late on Sunday saying that the release of its documents was the result of \u201can illegal computer hack\u201d and not a leak.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not the work of anybody who works at Appleby,\u201d the firm with offices in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and other offshore jurisdictions said. Appleby said there was no evidence of any wrongdoing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-paradise-tax-usa\/u-s-commerce-chief-says-he-is-likely-to-divest-russia-linked-shipping-stake-idUSKBN1D516X<\/span><\/p>\n

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