Russian politicians downplayed leaks in the Paradise Papers concerning Russian officials and state companies, insisting the deals were legal and not politically motivated. The head of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian senate, Konstantin Kosachev, charged that the leaks were “stirring emotions and muddled wording,” speaking to RIA Novosti state news agency on Monday.
The papers leaked from offshore law firm Appleby reveal that VTB Bank, Russia’s second largest bank and now under US sanctions, funded an investment in Twitter.
In addition, a branch of Gazprom energy giant through an offshore company financed an investment vehicle that owned Facebook shares.
Both these deals are linked to Russian billionaire investor Yuri Milner.
Kosachev said the way this was presented in the papers was a “fantastic, phantasmagorical text.”