April 02, 2020

Russian Fund Behind Coronavirus Aid Shipment Is on U.S. Lending Blacklist

Featuring: Peter Harrell

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Journalists: Dylan Tokar, Kristin Broughton

A Russian state-owned fund that says it footed half the bill of a coronavirus aid shipment delivered to the U.S. on Wednesday has been on a U.S. Treasury restricted lending list since 2015.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, a $10 billion sovereign-wealth fund started by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2011, said Thursday it paid for half the cost of a shipment of medical supplies promised by Moscow in a call with President Trump on Monday.

The shipment was delivered to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in New York, according to the U.S. State Department. A Russian Defense Ministry video showed a transport plane it said was filled with the supplies taking off from a Moscow region airstrip.

Read the full article and more in The Wall Street Journal.

Author

  • Peter Harrell

    Former Adjunct Senior Fellow, Energy, Economics and Security Program

    Peter Harrell is a former adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He is a leading expert on U.S. economic statecraft, including sanctions, export cont...