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Rinat Akhmetshin
Rinat Rafkatovitch Akhmetshin (Russian: Ринат Рафкатович Ахметшин, born 1967) is a Russian-American lobbyist and a former Soviet counterintelligence officer. Bill Browder alleges that Akhmetshin represents Russian intelligence interests. He came to the American media's attention in July 2017 as a registered lobbyist for an organization run by Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who, along with him, had a meeting with Donald Trump's election campaign officials in June 2016.
Akhmetshin was born in Jan 22, 1968 Kazan, Tatarstan. Akhmetshin served briefly as a counterintelligence officer for the Soviet Union and, according to some U.S. officials, is suspected of "having ongoing ties to Russian Intelligence". According to his statements, from 1986 to 1988 Rinat Akhmetshin served as a draftee in a unit of the Soviet military that had responsibility for law enforcement issues as well as some counterintelligence matters and was briefly in Afghanistan. At a Soviet Army checkpoint in a tunnel in northern Afghanistan, he obtained cash and numerous items from Afghans which he would sell later while he was with a counterintelligence unit. As a teenager in the Soviet armed forces, he was a courier that carried secret documents in briefcases handcuffed to his wrist with two men carrying Kalashnikovs and that he has been to every Soviet military base in Estonia and Latvia. During his time in the Baltics, he sold gasoline from Soviet Army sources. In 1992, he became a first lieutenant in "chemical defence" and trained in the Urals however he claims that he never received training to be an officer. Before 1992, he studied chemistry for one year at Kazan State University.
He stated, "I will never f**k with Russian state," and "I will never do things against Russian government."
He moved to the United States in 1994 to study biochemistry. As he became a lobbyist for issues relating to the Former Soviet Union, his mentor was Edward Lieberman. In 1998, he set up the Washington D.C. office of the International Eurasian Institute for Economic and Political Research to "help expand democracy and the rule of law in Eurasia". He has been tied to lobbying for political opposition to Kazakhstan's ruling president Nursultan Nazarbayev, efforts to discredit former member of Russia's parliament Ashot Egiazaryan who fled to the U.S., as well as major corporate disputes. While Akhmetshin headed the International Eurasian Institute, Andrey Vavilov hired Akhmetshin to thwart the efforts of Ashot Egiazaryan who was trying to obtain political asylum in the United States.
In 2009, he obtained citizenship of the United States. In 2016 Akhmetshin told Politico: "Just because I was born in Russia doesn't mean I am an agent of [the] Kremlin."
In 2010, he submitted an op-ed to The Washington Times on behalf of Viktor Ivanov the director of Russia's anti-narcotic police.
From 2012 to 2014, EuroChem's United States attorneys retained Akhmetshin as a consultant while the Andrey Melnichenko controlled EuroChem filed lawsuits in Europe against International Mineral Resources (IMR) that was controlled by the Kazakh Trio of Patokh Chodiev, Alexander Machkevitch, and Alijan Ibragimov who had founded the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation. Mark Cymrot of the United States law firm Baker and Hostetler LLC (BakerHostetler) hired Fusion GPS. Previously, Cymrot had represented Rakhat Aliyev.
In 2013, Akhmetshin recommended attorneys with BakerHostetler to Russian officials associated with Prevezon during ongoing prosecution of Prevezon by the United States. In 2013, both John Moscow and Mark Cymrot of BakerHostetler hired Glenn Simpson and Akhmetshin for support during the Bill Browder, Hermitage Capital and Sergey Magnitsky related case involving Prevezon and Preet Bharara. Previously, John Moscow of BakerHostetler represented Hermitage Capital interests for nine months beginning in September 2008 while Rengaz associated 2006 theft of tax rebates in Russia by a Russian criminal organization. Natalia Veselnitskaya represented Denis Katsyv's interests during the court cases related to Prevezon and also assisted the Glenn Simpson associated Fusion GPS during its research into Bill Browder.
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Rinat Akhmetshin
Rinat Rafkatovitch Akhmetshin (Russian: Ринат Рафкатович Ахметшин, born 1967) is a Russian-American lobbyist and a former Soviet counterintelligence officer. Bill Browder alleges that Akhmetshin represents Russian intelligence interests. He came to the American media's attention in July 2017 as a registered lobbyist for an organization run by Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who, along with him, had a meeting with Donald Trump's election campaign officials in June 2016.
Akhmetshin was born in Jan 22, 1968 Kazan, Tatarstan. Akhmetshin served briefly as a counterintelligence officer for the Soviet Union and, according to some U.S. officials, is suspected of "having ongoing ties to Russian Intelligence". According to his statements, from 1986 to 1988 Rinat Akhmetshin served as a draftee in a unit of the Soviet military that had responsibility for law enforcement issues as well as some counterintelligence matters and was briefly in Afghanistan. At a Soviet Army checkpoint in a tunnel in northern Afghanistan, he obtained cash and numerous items from Afghans which he would sell later while he was with a counterintelligence unit. As a teenager in the Soviet armed forces, he was a courier that carried secret documents in briefcases handcuffed to his wrist with two men carrying Kalashnikovs and that he has been to every Soviet military base in Estonia and Latvia. During his time in the Baltics, he sold gasoline from Soviet Army sources. In 1992, he became a first lieutenant in "chemical defence" and trained in the Urals however he claims that he never received training to be an officer. Before 1992, he studied chemistry for one year at Kazan State University.
He stated, "I will never f**k with Russian state," and "I will never do things against Russian government."
He moved to the United States in 1994 to study biochemistry. As he became a lobbyist for issues relating to the Former Soviet Union, his mentor was Edward Lieberman. In 1998, he set up the Washington D.C. office of the International Eurasian Institute for Economic and Political Research to "help expand democracy and the rule of law in Eurasia". He has been tied to lobbying for political opposition to Kazakhstan's ruling president Nursultan Nazarbayev, efforts to discredit former member of Russia's parliament Ashot Egiazaryan who fled to the U.S., as well as major corporate disputes. While Akhmetshin headed the International Eurasian Institute, Andrey Vavilov hired Akhmetshin to thwart the efforts of Ashot Egiazaryan who was trying to obtain political asylum in the United States.
In 2009, he obtained citizenship of the United States. In 2016 Akhmetshin told Politico: "Just because I was born in Russia doesn't mean I am an agent of [the] Kremlin."
In 2010, he submitted an op-ed to The Washington Times on behalf of Viktor Ivanov the director of Russia's anti-narcotic police.
From 2012 to 2014, EuroChem's United States attorneys retained Akhmetshin as a consultant while the Andrey Melnichenko controlled EuroChem filed lawsuits in Europe against International Mineral Resources (IMR) that was controlled by the Kazakh Trio of Patokh Chodiev, Alexander Machkevitch, and Alijan Ibragimov who had founded the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation. Mark Cymrot of the United States law firm Baker and Hostetler LLC (BakerHostetler) hired Fusion GPS. Previously, Cymrot had represented Rakhat Aliyev.
In 2013, Akhmetshin recommended attorneys with BakerHostetler to Russian officials associated with Prevezon during ongoing prosecution of Prevezon by the United States. In 2013, both John Moscow and Mark Cymrot of BakerHostetler hired Glenn Simpson and Akhmetshin for support during the Bill Browder, Hermitage Capital and Sergey Magnitsky related case involving Prevezon and Preet Bharara. Previously, John Moscow of BakerHostetler represented Hermitage Capital interests for nine months beginning in September 2008 while Rengaz associated 2006 theft of tax rebates in Russia by a Russian criminal organization. Natalia Veselnitskaya represented Denis Katsyv's interests during the court cases related to Prevezon and also assisted the Glenn Simpson associated Fusion GPS during its research into Bill Browder.