2015
February 2015
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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today imposed a $10 million civil money penalty against Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort (Trump Taj Mahal), for willful and repeated violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). In addition to the civil money penalty, the casino is required to conduct periodic external audits to examine its anti-money laundering (AML) BSA compliance program and provide those audit reports to FinCEN and the casino’s Board of Directors.
- Trump Taj Mahal, a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, admitted to several willful BSA violations, including violations of AML program requirements, reporting obligations, and recordkeeping requirements. Trump Taj Mahal has a long history of prior, repeated BSA violations cited by examiners dating back to 2003. Additionally, in 1998, FinCEN assessed a $477,700 civil money penalty against Trump Taj Mahal for currency transaction reporting violations.
Feb 13, 2015
- Fitch Downgrades Russian Alfa Bank, Lowers Sberbank’s and GPB’s VRs. The downgrade of Alfa’s ratings reflects the weakening of the Russian operating environment, and Fitch’s view that it is appropriate to maintain a one-notch differential between the ratings of the bank and the Russian sovereign. The Negative Outlook reflects Fitch’s view that economic recession (Fitch expects GDP to contract by 4% in 2015), higher funding costs, rouble devaluation, rising inflation and a potential increase in loan impairment are likely to put pressure on Alfa’s credit profile in 2015.
March-May 2015
- The Russians launch a major spearfishing campaign. 1000’s of targets.
June 2015
June 16, 2015
- Trump announces that he is running for president.
June, 24 2015
- Mark Burnett can see Russia from his office. The reality TV superproducer behind the TLC hit Sarah Palin’s Alaska — along with NBC stalwart The Voice, CBS’ Survivor and ABC’s Shark Tank, among others — has his eye on a series that would go inside the world of global government leaders. First on his wish list: Russia’s Vladimir Putin. If all goes as he hopes, others, including Cuba’s Fidel Castro, would follow. “I want this to be a series of shows from the eyes of leaders of nations about their countries,” Burnett, 54, tells THR, “not through the lens of a news organization.”
July 2015
- Hackers breach the DNC and stay in the network for at least 11 months.
July 18, 2015
- Richard Burt calls for a plan to preserve Ukraine’s financial futureThe Washington Times
July 22, 2015
- Emin Agalarov’s publicist, Rob Goldstone, sends a message to Trump’s long-time personal executive assistant, Rhona Graff, inviting Trump to attend Aras Agalarov’s 60th birthday party in Moscow.
August 2015
Aug. 21, 2015
- Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) makes an unexpected appearance at a Donald Trump campaign rally in Mobile, Ala. While he doesn’t endorse Trump, he dons a “Make America Great Again” cap to loud applause. Sessions is one of the first elected officials to tacitly embrace Trump’s upstart candidacy.
September 2015
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The FBI informs the Democratic National Committee that a Russian-linked cyber-spy group had likely compromised its computer network.
- Ukrainian steel magnate Victor Pinchuk’s foundation becomes the single largest outside donor to Donald Trump’s private charity in 2015.
Sept. 29, 2015
- Trump told Bill O’Reilly: “I will tell you in terms of leadership he [Putin] is getting an ‘A,’ and our president is not doing so well.”
October 2015
- A GRU-associated hacking group targets the Clinton campaign.
November 2015
Nov. 6, 2015
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The former Russian press minister and founder of the English-language television network Russia Today (RT) Mikhail Lesin’s November 2015 death in a Washington, DC, hotel of a heart attack was deemed mysterious. Based on video and other evidence and interviews with witnesses, officials said Lesin entered his room at the Doyle Dupont Circle Hotel on the morning of Nov. 4, 2015, after a dayslong drinking binge and was injured while alone in his room. His body was found the next day. Russian news media, citing relatives, initially reported that Lesin had a heart attack
- Blunt force injuries to his head and body were released as the cause of death in March, but authorities didn’t say how he got the injuries. It was later deemed ‘an accident.’
Nov. 10, 2015
- Trump said: “I got to know [Putin] very well because we were both on 60 Minutes. We were stablemates, and we did very well that night.” Trump would later explain that he never met Putin…
December 2015
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Vladimir Putin compliments “talented” Trump and says he is “absolutely the leader in the presidential race.”
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Trump responds, “It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond.”
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When pressed about Putin’s abysmal human rights record and killing of journalists, he replies:”I think our country does plenty of killing also.”This sort of thing happens several times during the Republican primary, with Trump being given opportunities to strongly denounce Putin and refusing to take them, instead insisting he’d rather get along with Russia.
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Fake news ‘troll farms’ begin ‘shitposting’ in support of Trump.
- British spies see information from Democratic party emails circulating within Russia and warn their US counterparts. The hacking scandal starts to unwind.
Dec. 10, 2015
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Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, who would become Trump’s national security adviser, sat at Putin’s table for the 10th anniversary gala of Russia’s state-owned television propaganda network, RT. Flynn had made a paid appearance on the network.
- Sheriff David Clarke is there too. Meeting with Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, while Michael Flynn dined with Putin.
Dec 12, 2015
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NRA Reps Met With US Sanctioned Dmitry Rogozin in Moscow – deputy to Putin, and head of Russia’s defense industry
- Rogozin tweet
Dec 17, 2015
- Putin begins praising Trump in public.
Dec 18, 2015
- Trump claims that there’s no proof Putin had journalists killed.
Dec 25, 2015
- Vlad Kolesnikov, a young Russian who committed suicide after being persecuted for his support of Ukraine. As Kirillova writes, he may have died by his own hand, but it would be wrong to call him anything but “a victim of Putin’s Russia.”
December 27, 2015
- Aleksandr Shushukin, the deputy commander of Russia’s air strike forces who took part in the seizure of Ukraine’s Crimea, was pronounced dead, “from a heart attack.”
Dec 31, 2015
- Russia’s national security plan defines NATO as a threat.
Trump & Russia 