Tag: Wilbur Ross

U.S. Commerce Official Still Holds Stake in Company Linked to Putin Associates

The following article by Dan Alexander of Forbes and Derek Kravitz was posted on the ProPublica website December 21, 2017:

Wendy Teramoto, the agency’s chief of staff, has maintained the investment in the wake of calls for an investigation.

This story was co-published with Forbes.

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross speaks during the Washington Conference on the Americas at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., on May 9. Ross’ chief of staff, Wendy Teramoto, was on the board of a company that did business with an entity partly owned by Putin allies, and still owns a stake in the company. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The chief of staff for Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Wendy Teramoto, still owns a stake in a shipping company tied to associates of Vladimir Putin, despite the fact that her former role as a board member for the same company prompted six Senate Democrats to request an investigation into her apparent conflicts of interest last month.

“We have not been notified, nor are we aware, of a formal investigation by the inspector general,” Commerce Department spokesperson James Rockas said in a statement. “But we continue to answer any questions that are raised by department ethics officials or the inspector general.” The statement said that Teramoto has recused herself from any matters relating to her investments. (The same senators also requested an investigation of Ross, who initially retained an estimated $3.4 million stake in the company, Navigator Holdings, but has since sold it.) Continue reading “U.S. Commerce Official Still Holds Stake in Company Linked to Putin Associates”