cory A. Bo0KeR suo xe Anited States Senate February 13, 2018 ‘The Honorable Steven T. Mauchin Secretary ofthe Treasury US, Department ofthe Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20220 ‘Dear Secretary Mnuchin: | write requesting more information regarding a report recently submited to Congress ‘identifying senior political figures and oligarchs in the Russian Federation as required by the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Numerous individuals included on this list have previously conducted transactions with, or had financial tiesto, President Trump and members of his Administration. Given the undisputed threat posed by Russia it isin the public interest to identify and thoroughly examine any exposure members of the U.S. government might have had to individuals connected to the Russian regime, which may ‘be subject to sanctions in the future. In recent testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, you indicated that “[tJhere will be ‘sanctions that com out of this report." CAATSA also requires thatthe Treasury Department assess the closeness of the relationship between the listed Russian political figures and oligarchs and Russian President Vladimir Putin or other members of the Russian ruling elit, as well as ‘any “indices of corruption,” which may guide the application of future sanctions t0 these individuals ‘Asa result, I was alarmed to see Dmitry Rybolovlev on ths ist an individual who paid President Trump $95 million in 2008 for a Palm Beach home in the form of an all-cash ‘transaction through a shell company. This was more than double what Mr. Trump paid for the ‘propery just four years earlier, Mr. Rybolovlev is one of the wealthiest people in Russa, with a net worth estimated at the time of the sale to be $13 billion. He obtained his fortune primarily ‘through his ownership of Uralkali, Russia's largest producer of potash fertilizers. Mr. Ryboloviey has also held as much asa 10 percent stake in the Bank of Cyprus, where Secretary ‘of Commerce Wilbur Ross was a shareholder and served as Viee Chair ofthe bank's Board of Before Mr, Rybolovlev appeared on this lst of Russian oligarchs, Democratic Senators ‘submitted numerous requests for information from the Administration. These requests have been ‘completely ignored, On February 16,2017, six Democratic Senators sent a letter to Secretary Ross with a ist, of questions asking for details concerning hs relationship with major Russian shareholders in the Bank of Cyprus.‘© On February 24, 2017, I sent a leter to Secretary Ross with questions regarding the full extent of connections or tes thal may exit between the Trump Administration the ‘Trump presidential eampsign, or the Trump Organization and the Bank of Cyprus, including Mr. Ryboloviev. ‘© On March 10, 2017, five Democratic Senators sent a leter to Secretary Ross with further questions about possible links between the Russian government, the Bank of Cyprus, and the Trump business and political apparatus. The letter includes questions coneeming ‘whether the Bank of Cyprus was involved with any individuals or entities placed under US. financial sanctions while Secretary Ross served as Viee Chai, {In addition, questions have been raised regarding President Trump's 2008 sale of the Palm Beach estate, also known as Maison de L'Amitie, to Mr. Rybolovlev for $95 million in cash through 2 shell company. These questions include whether the fact thatthe estate sold for $30 million above known appraisals at the time would have raised concems that the sale qualified as a “covered transaction” under current guidelines regarding money laundering and illicit financial flows, ‘The appearance of Dmitry Ryboloviev, as well as another Bank of Cyprus sharcholder, Viktor Vekselberg, on the lst of Russian oligarchs mandated by CAATSA raises new questions related to sil-unanswered requests from Democratic Senators. Accordingly, please provide answers to the following questions no later than March 1, 2018 1, Has the Treasury Department conducted an analysis regarding whether any members of ‘the Administration, or businesses and assets owned by or affiliated with members of the ‘Administration, have any financial exposure to Dmitry Rybolovlev? 2. Has the Treasury Department conducted an analysis ofthe closeness of any relationship that may exist beoween Dmitry Rybolovlev and Russian President Viadimir Putin or other ‘members of the Russian ruling elite? 3. Isthe Treasury Department planning on publicly issuing a more detailed report on the CAATSA-mandate list of senior Russian political figures and oligarchs beyond basic same identification? 4. Why did you simply release a ist of Russian oligarchs, instead of imposing sancti mandated by CAATSA? When do you expect to release a follow-up to this por? 5. Isthe Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control considering addi Dmitry Rybolovlev to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN) as a result of his inclusion in the list of oligarchs mandated by CAATSA?Following U.S. intelligence agencies’ assessment of Russia's efforts to interfere in democratic institutions allover the world, the United States mast pursue every available measure to counter ‘the continuing threat Russia poses. I look forward to gaining a more complete understanding of the steps you have taken to ensure that Russia and its key operatives are not able to influence or undermine our democracy. I appreciate your attention to this matter and your timely response. Sincerely, Cory A. Booker United States Senator he Honorable Rex Tllerson, Secretary of State