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https://scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/2141345/russian-company-tied-putins-chef-set-fight-mueller United States & Canada
Russian company tied to ‘Putin’s chef’ set to fight Robert Mueller’s election collusion investigation
Yevgeny Prigozhin (left, with Russian President Vladimir Putin on November 11, 2011) is looking to fight Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which has named him as the head of a Russian ‘troll farm’ that affected the 2016 US presidential election. Photo: AP
A Russian company charged with helping fund a Russian propaganda operation that allegedly tampered in the 2016 US presidential election has retained two Washington lawyers to handle its defence, according to court filings on Wednesday.
The company, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, will be represented by Eric Dubelier and Katherine Seikaly of the law firm Reed Smith, the filings say. Dubelier and Seikaly both specialise in handling government investigations.
Concord was indicted in February along with two other Russian companies and 13 Russians by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for an alleged plot to sow discord in the US political system by using false personas to push divisive messages over social media, staging political rallies and other means.
Legal experts have said that it is unlikely the individuals charged would be apprehended as long as they stayed outside the United States. It is unclear what legal consequences Concord or other two companies could face outside the United States.
Concord is controlled by Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was one of those charged, accused of overseeing a criminal conspiracy aimed at supporting Republican candidate Donald Trump and disparaging Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign, according to the indictment.
US intelligence agencies have concluded that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election. Mueller is investigating the Russian interference, and whether there was any collusion with Moscow by members of Trump’s campaign.
The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied the allegations of meddling, has said the charges contain zero proof of Russian state involvement. President Trump has denied allegations of wrongdoing, including colluding with Russia.
Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s chef” because of his catering business that has organised banquets for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other political figures, has been quoted has been quoted as saying he was unfazed by the indictment.
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses newly-arrived foreign ambassadors as he received their credentials during a ceremony in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on April 11, 2018. Photo: Sputnik, Kremlin Pool via AP
Dubelier, a federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia in the 1990s, now works primarily with clients in the health care, financial services and defence industries, according to his biography on the Reed Smith website.
Seikaly focuses on government investigations and helping clients deal with regulatory compliance, and often handles issues related to electronic discovery, her biography says.
The special counsel’s office is getting set to try Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort on tax and bank fraud charges later this year.
Since Mueller filed a sweeping indictment in mid-February against 13 Russian individuals and three companies – which include Concord Management and Concord Catering – there’s been no activity in the case. Most expected that no one would appear to defend against the charges.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced Mueller’s charges in February, alleging that workers at a St Petersburg, Russia, troll farm set out in 2014 to sow discord in the US political system, ultimately by supporting Trump and disparaging Hillary Clinton.