The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Russian energy mogul backed suspected agent
Maria Butina, the Russian woman charged in federal court last week with acting as an unregistered agent of her government, received financial support from Konstantin Nikolaev, a Russian billionaire with investments in U.S. energy and technology companies, according to a person familiar with testimony she gave Senate investigators.
Butina told the Senate Intelligence Committee in April that Nikolaev provided funding for a gun rights group she represented, according to the person. A spokesman for Nikolaev confirmed that he was in contact with her as she was launching the progun rights group in Russia between 2012 and 2014. He declined to confirm whether Nikolaev he gave her financial support.
Nikolaev’s fortune has been built largely through port and railroad investments in Russia. He also sits on the board of American Ethane, a Houston eth- ane company that was showcased by President Donald Trump at an event in China last year, and is an investor in a Silicon Valley start-up.
Nikolaev has never met Trump, according to his spokesman.
However, Nikolaev’s son Andrey, who is studying in the United States, volun- teered in the 2016 campaign in support of Trump’s candidacy, according a person familiar with his activities. Konstantin Nikolaev was spotted at the Trump Inter- national Hotel in Washing- ton, D.C., during Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, according to two people familiar with his presence.
In a court filing last week, prosecutors said Butina’s emails and chat logs are full of references to a billionaire as the “funder” of her activities. They wrote that the billionaire is a “known Russian businessman with deep ties to the Russian Presidential Administration.”
Prosecutors did not identify Butina’s funder by name but said he travels often to the United States and was listed by Forbes this year as having a net worth of $1.2 billion — which is the same as Nikolaev’s current listing.
Butina was ordered held without bond last week after she was charged with con- spiring to work as a Russian agent. Prosecutors allege that she sought to meet GOP pol- iticians and infiltrate conser- vative organizations, including the National Rifle Asso- ciation, at the direction of a Russian government official, in an attempt to advance the Kremlin’s interests.
According to prosecutors, for two years, she traveled back and forth to the United States, often accompanying Russian central banker Alexander Torshin to NRA events and other political meetings. Prosecutors have said that her activities were directed by a high-level Russian gov- ernment official who matches the description of Torshin.
In August 2016, she came to Washington to study fulltime as a graduate student at American University.
Butina’s lawyer, Robert Driscoll, has said she is not a Russian agent but rather a student interested in learning about the American political system. The Russian government has proclaimed Buti- na’s innocence, promoting the hashtag #freeMariaButina on social media.
Russian Foreign Minis- ter Sergei Lavrov pressed Butina’s case with Secre- tary of State Mike Pompeo in a phone call Saturday, the Russian government said.
Driscoll said Nikolaev was a financial supporter of the gun-rights group Butina founded in Russia, the Right to Bear Arms. She met him in person only twice, he said.