House Intelligence Committee investigators will have some new information to discuss with Erik Prince who is scheduled to testify Thursday from 2pm to 6pm ET.
Prince, an unofficial advisor to the Trump transition, traveled to the Seychelles around January 11, 2017 to meet with a Russian close to Vladimir Putin. The meeting, set up by the United Arab Emirates, allegedly was to establish unofficial backchannel communications between Moscow and the incoming Trump administration.
On Tuesday, The Intercept, using flight data, identified the previously unnamed Russian:
[O]n January 11, a Turkish-owned Bombardier Global 5000 charter plane flew Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, to the Seychelles, flight records obtained by The Intercept show. Dmitriev’s plane was an unscheduled charter flight and flew to the island with two other Russian individuals, both women. The RDIF is a $10 billion sovereign wealth fund created by the Russian government in 2011.
When CNN asked Prince whom he met with in January, Prince claimed he didn't catch the man's name and their conversation didn't last longer than the time it would take to drink a beer.
Although Prince repeatedly stated he couldn’t remember the Russian’s name — “We didn’t exchange cards” — a spokesperson for Frontier Services Group confirmed to The Intercept in September that Prince “crossed paths” with Dmitriev in the Seychelles.
The apparent encounter between Prince and Dmitriev offers yet another glimpse into the growing web of connections between the Trump administration and the Russian government, and raises the possibility that U.S. sanctions against Russia could have been violated if a business deal took place. Compliance lawyers and current and former U.S. officials say the mere presence of RDIF in a transaction that touches the U.S. financial sector or involves American individuals or companies risks violating sanctions.
The Intercept explains more about RDIF:
As one of Russia’s official sovereign wealth funds, RDIF is closely tied to the government and has the ability to funnel public money into private projects.
(...)
RDIF is also a political entity, said Chris Weafer, a senior partner at Macro Advisory, an investment advisory firm in Moscow. When the government puts forward an economic project, RDIF helps execute it.
Full story: TRUMP ENVOY ERIK PRINCE MET WITH CEO OF RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND IN SEYCHELLES (The Intercept)