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Aleksandr Torshin

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In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Porfiryevich and the family name is Torshin.
Aleksandr Torshin
Александр Торшин
Torshin in 2013
Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Russia
In office
2015[1]–2018[2]
Russian Federation Senator
from the Mari El Republic
In office
26 January 2001 – 20 January 2015
Preceded bySeat established
Succeeded bySvetlana Solntseva
Acting Chairman of the Federation Council
In office
19 May 2011 – 21 September 2011
Preceded bySergey Mironov
Succeeded byValentina Matviyenko
Personal details
Born
Aleksandr Porfiryevich Torshin

(1953-11-27) November 27, 1953 (age 70)
Mitoga, Kamchatka Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Children2 daughters

Aleksandr Porfiryevich Torshin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Порфи́рьевич То́ршин; born 27 November 1953) is a Russian politician. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.[3] He served in the Federation Council of Russia,[4] from 2001 to 2015. He was its acting Chairman for four months in 2011. As of July 2018, he is a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia.[5] Torshin is from the Mari El Republic, and has represented it in parliament.

Allegations have been made about his involvement with the Taganskaya Gang.[6][7][a] Torshin denied the allegations.[10]

Biography

[edit]

He graduated from the All-Union Legal Correspondence Institute with a degree in law in 1978.[11] From 1990 to 1991 he was an employee of the department for relations with socio-political organizations of the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee.[11]

From 1995 to 1998 he was the State Secretary of the Bank of Russia, was responsible for interaction with government bodies, public organizations and the media.[11] During this time, he allegedly met with Alexander Romanov often.[8][9]

In 1998, he assumed the authority of a representative of the government of the Russian Federation in the State Duma in the rank of deputy head of the government apparatus.[11]

From 1999 to 2001, he worked as Deputy General Director – State Secretary of the State Corporation "Agency for Restructuring Credit Organizations".[11]

In January 2001, Alexander Torshin becomes a member of the Federation Council from the government of the Russian Republic of Mari El.[11]

In January 2002, he was appointed deputy chairman of the Federation Council.[11]

In August 2004, he joined the ranks of the party "United Russia".[11]

In September 2008, Torshin became the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council.[11]

From May 18 to September 21, 2011, served as chairman of the Federation Council. He served in the Federation Council of Russia, the upper house of the Russian parliament, from 2001 to 2015, and as its acting Chairman for four months in 2011. During his time as a senator, he was on Russia's powerful National Anti-Terrorism Committee for more than a decade.[12] Torshin, originating from the Mari El Republic, a republic in Russia, is a leading figure in the ruling United Russia party.[4][11]

There have also been accusations made that he is a leading figure within the Russian mafia.[7]

Republican Dana Rohrabacher called Torshin "sort of the conservatives' favorite Russian".[13]

Torshin is closely associated with Vyacheslav Vasilyevich Kalashnikov (Russian: Вячеслав Васильевич Калашников), who is president of the private military contractor (PMC) Moran Security Group (MSG), a colonel in the FSB reserve and an adviser to Russian Senator Torshin.[14] In 2013, Vyacheslav Kalashnikov interviewed prospective candidates who formed the Slavonic Corps.[14][b]

Career

[edit]
Torshin and Valentina Matviyenko in 2013

Some time between 1995 and 1998, Torshin was State Secretary of the Central Bank of Russia. Torshin entered the Federation Council of Russia in 2001. He became the acting chairman for the succeeding Sergey Mironov on May 19, 2011, after Mironov was ousted by the majority United Russia in the Council. Torshin remained as acting chairman until the election of Valentina Matviyenko also from the United Russia Party. She assumed her responsibilities on September 21, 2011. He remained in the Federation Council until 2015. Torshin was appointed the deputy head of the Central Bank of Russia in 2015 and suddenly retired in 2018.[2]

Allegations in Spain

[edit]

In 2016, a Spanish investigation connected Torshin with Alexander Romanov, the leader of the Taganskaya Gang, who had been arrested in Spain and sentenced to four years in prison in May 2016 for illegal transactions. Torshin was allegedly involved in money laundering for the gang.[18] According to Spanish police, he gave instructions to members of the Gang on laundering, through banks and real estate in Spain. They concluded that in the structure of the organized criminal group, Torshin "stood higher" than Romanov. As a result of wiretapping, which took place several months before the arrest of Romanov, Spanish intelligence agencies concluded that Romanov was following financial orders from Torshin, and that Torshin himself could be the manager of the assets of the gang.[18] Romanov's properties in Spain, 80% of which Spanish police believe belong to Torshin, have been confiscated.[19]

Spanish police had planned to arrest Torshin in 2013 when he arrived in Mallorca for a friend's birthday party, but he did not arrive. Spanish police speculated he might have been tipped off by Russian authorities.[6]

In 2018, wiretappings from the Spanish police were handed over to the FBI. When asked if this had any relationship with politics in the US, José Grinda, a Spanish prosecutor, replied "Mr. Trump's son should be concerned."[20][21]

Involvement in U.S. politics

[edit]

Between 2011 and 2018, Torshin and his assistant (sometimes described as his associate or representative) Maria Butina, established a cooperative relationship between the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the Russian-based "Right to Bear Arms [ru]" which Butina founded in 2011. Torshin has been attending NRA annual meetings in the United States since at least 2011. Following the 2011 meeting, then NRA President David Keene expressed his support for Torshin's "endeavors" and extended an invitation to the 2012 meeting.[22] Torshin attended every NRA annual meeting between 2012 and 2016, occasionally with Butina, and has met every NRA president since 2012.[23][24] Torshin has tweeted that he and Butina are the only two Russians he knows of who are lifetime NRA members.[24][25][26] Butina and Torshin attended the 2014 NRA annual meeting as special guests of former NRA president Keene.[27][28]

Torshin has been a subject of an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[7][24] In January 2018, McClatchyDC reported that Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation is pursuing allegations that Torshin has links to Russian organized crime, and laundered money from the Russian government to the NRA to benefit Trump's campaign.[7] Torshin is also the subject of a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into whether the Russian government attempted to illegally funnel money to the NRA in order to help Trump win the presidency.[7][29][30] On May 16, 2018, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report[31] stating it had obtained "a number of documents that suggest the Kremlin used the National Rifle Association as a means of accessing and assisting Mr. Trump and his campaign" through Torshin and Butina, and that "The Kremlin may also have used the NRA to secretly fund Mr. Trump's campaign."[32] Most of that money was spent by an arm of the NRA that is not required to disclose its donors. In April 2018, the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on 23 Russian nationals, including Torshin,[33] whose assets in the United States were frozen[23][34] and whose entry into the United States barred, besides being subject to other financial disabilities.

The New York Times reported on July 17, 2018 that Torshin was scheduled to visit the White House in 2017, but the meeting was canceled after a national security aide noted Torshin was under investigation by Spanish authorities for money laundering.[35]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Allegedly, Alexander Romanov, who is the leader in Spain of the Taganskaya OPG (Russian: Таганская ОПГ), refers to Torshin as his 'godfather' according to the Spanish Civil Guard.[8][9] According to the Spanish Civil Guard, Alexander Romanov is an intermediary between Torshin and Igor Zhirnokleev (also spelled Zhirnokleyev) (Russian: Игорь Жирноклеев) who is the leader of the Taganskaya OPG.[9]
  2. ^ Allegedly, Dmitry Utkin (aka "Wagner"), who is an anti-Semitic and had been a member of the Slavonic Corps, recruited former members of the Slavonic Corps, especially paratroopers, former special forces (OMON, SOBR, Spetsnaz, etc.) and marines, to form the Yevgeny Prigozhin associated Wagner Group (aka the "orchestra").[15][16][17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rosenberg, Matthew; McIntire, Mike; Laforgia, Michael; Kramer, Andrew E.; Dias, Elizabeth (4 August 2018). "Beyond the N.R.A.: Maria Butina's Peculiar Bid for Russian Influence". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b Rudnitsky, Jake; Pismennaya, Evgenia (30 November 2018). "NRA-Linked Russia Central Banker Retires". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  3. ^ О присвоении квалификационных разрядов федеральным государственным служащим Аппарата Правительства Российской Федерации (Decree 123) (in Russian). President of Russia. 25 January 1999.
  4. ^ a b "Xinhua: China, Russia eye stronger parliamentary cooperation". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 24 September 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Russian Accused of Infiltrating NRA on Mission From Kremlin". Bloomberg News. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  6. ^ a b Sampathkumar, Mythili (3 April 2017). "Donald Trump 'almost met with Russian gangster linked to Putin'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d e Stone, Peter; Gordon, Greg (18 January 2018). "FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump". McClatchyDC. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018. It's unclear how long the Torshin inquiry has been ongoing, but the news comes as Justice Department Special Counsel Robert Mueller's sweeping investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including whether the Kremlin colluded with Trump's campaign, has been heating up.
  8. ^ a b Duarte, Esteban; Meyer, Henry; Pismennaya, Evgenia (9 August 2016). "Mobster or Central Banker? Spanish Cops Allege This Russian Both". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Кириленко, Анастасия (Kirilenko, Anastasia) (20 July 2018). "Не просто Мария: как зампред ЦБ Торшин заслал помощницу в штаб Трампа и чем он занимался в Таганской ОПГ" [Not just Maria: how Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Torshin sent an assistant to Trump’s headquarters and what he did in the Taganskaya organized crime group]. The Insider (in Russian). Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ РИА Новости: Центробанк прокомментировал статью Bloomberg о Торшине. 13:47 09.08.2016
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Биография Торшина Александра Порфирьевича, Банк России". Банки.ру. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  12. ^ Mak, Tim (23 February 2017). "The Kremlin and GOP Have a New Friend—and Boy, Does She Love Guns. Товарищ: Depending on who's asking, Maria Butina is either a Russian central bank staffer, a gun rights advocate, or a connection between D.C. Republicans and Russia". Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  13. ^ Glum, Julia (18 November 2017). "Who Is Alexander Torshin? Russian Banker Linked With Putin Talked With Donald Trump Jr. at 2016 Dinner". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  14. ^ a b Дергачев, Владимир (Dergachev, Vladimir); Згировская, Екатерина (Zgirovskaya, Ekaterina) (24 March 2016). "Российские наемники в боях за Пальмиру: В Сирии под Пальмирой могли погибнуть российские наемники" [Russian mercenaries in the battles for Palmyra: Russian mercenaries could have died in Syria near Palmyra]. Gazeta.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 December 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ Петелин, Герман (Petelin, German or Herman); Ващенко, Владимир (Vashchenko, Vladimir) (31 March 2016). "Из Молькино в Пальмиру: как тренируют российских наемников: На модернизацию полигона для воюющих в Сирии российских наемников ушло 50 млн рублей" [From Molkino to Palmyra: how Russian mercenaries are trained: 50 million rubles were spent on modernizing the training ground for Russian mercenaries fighting in Syria]. Gazeta.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 December 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ ""Славянский корпус" возвращается в Сирию: Набор добровольцев, желающих рискнуть головой за Башара Асада, открыт в России. "Фонтанка" узнала, как попасть на войну, сколько стоит жизнь солдата удачи и при чем здесь известный германский мистик-антисемит" ["Slavic Corps" returns to Syria: The recruitment of volunteers willing to risk their lives for Bashar al-Assad is open in Russia. Fontanka found out how to get to war, how much the life of a soldier of fortune costs, and what the famous German anti-Semitic mystic has to do with it.]. Фонтанка.ру (fontanka.ru) (in Russian). 16 October 2016. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  17. ^ Яппарова, Лилия (Yapparova, Liliya) (12 July 2022). "Грубо говоря, мы начали войну Как отправка ЧВК Вагнера на фронт помогла Пригожину наладить отношения с Путиным — и что такое "собянинский полк". Расследование "Медузы" о наемниках на войне в Украине" [Roughly speaking, we started a war. How sending the Wagner PMC to the front helped Prigozhin improve relations with Putin - and what the "Sobyanin regiment" is. Meduza's investigation into mercenaries in the war in Ukraine]. Meduza (meduza.io) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ a b Esteban, Duarte; Pismennaya, Evgenia; Meyer, Henry (8 August 2016). "Mobster or Central Banker? Spanish Cops Allege This Russian Both". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  19. ^ "Spain reaccuses Central Bank Deputy Chairman Torshin of money laundering and criminal connections". Crime Russia website. 3 April 2017. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  20. ^ Colin Kalmbacher (18 July 2018). "Reminder: Prosecutor Said 'Trump's Son Should be Concerned' About Wiretaps of Butina's Alleged Handler". Law and Crime. Retrieved 20 July 2018. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has received wiretaps obtained by Spanish police which implicate Donald Trump Jr. in a plot to meet with Alexander Torshin, a high-ranking official of Russia's Central Bank, according to a federal prosecutor in Spain. And, the prosecutor notes, those wiretaps don't bode well for the president's son.
  21. ^ Sheth, Sonam. "The FBI has obtained wiretaps of a Putin ally tied to the NRA who met with Trump Jr. during the campaign". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 May 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  22. ^ Stedman, Scott (20 February 2018). "In 2011 handwritten letter, NRA President offered help to Alexander Torshin for his "endeavors"". Archived from the original on 22 February 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  23. ^ a b Sheth, Sonam (7 April 2018). "The 3 biggest names on the latest Russia sanctions list have all popped up in the investigation surrounding Trump". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 11 April 2018. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  24. ^ a b c Clifton, Denise; Follman, Mark (8 March 2018). "The Very Strange Case of Two Russian Gun Lovers, the NRA, and Donald Trump". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018.
  25. ^ Pavlich, Katie (6 May 2014). "Part 1: Meet the Woman Working With the NRA and Fighting For Gun Rights in Russia". Townhall.com.
  26. ^ Mak, Tim (9 April 2018). "The NRA May Have More Russian Contributors Than It First Said". Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  27. ^ Mak, Tim (23 February 2017). "The Kremlin and GOP Have a New Friend – and Boy, Does She Love Guns". The Daily Beast.
  28. ^ Pavlich, Katie (6 May 2014). "Part 1: Meet the Woman Working With the NRA and Fighting For Gun Rights in Russia". Townhall. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  29. ^ Sheth, Sonam (17 March 2018). "Congress wants to question an NRA lawyer who reportedly raised concerns about the group's Russia ties". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  30. ^ Sheth, Sonam (5 April 2018). "Mueller's team is eyeing whether wealthy Russians illegally funneled money into Trump's campaign and inauguration". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  31. ^ "Preliminary Findings About Trump Campaign's Effort to Obtain Incriminating Information on Secretary Clinton from Russia at Trump Tower Meeting" (PDF). senate.gov. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  32. ^ Miller, Justin (16 May 2018). "Kremlin Used NRA to Help Trump in 2016, Senate Report Says". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 20 May 2018 – via www.thedailybeast.com.
  33. ^ "Ukraine-/Russia-related Designations and Identification Update". United States Department of the Treasury. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  34. ^ Matthew Mosk; Pete Madden (6 April 2018). "Alexander Torshin, Russian who courted NRA leaders, sanctioned by US Treasury". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  35. ^ Lafraniere, Sharon; Rosenberg, Matthew; Goldman, Adam (18 July 2018). "Maria Butina Loved Guns, Trump and Russia. It Was a Cover, Prosecutors Say". New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
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