BEAR HUNT

Swiss Official Linked to Natalia Veselnitskaya Convicted for Russia Trip

Investigator responsible for monitoring the Swiss finances of oligarchs and the Russian mafia accepted gifts from the Russian authorities.

One of Switzerland’s top investigators has been convicted after a trial that examined his improper links to Russia. The official—known in court as Victor K.—travelled to Russia without permission from his superiors for talks with Natalia Veselnitskaya, the lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner at Trump Tower. He was found guilty of accepting gifts from the Russian authorities in a Swiss court for improperly taking another trip to Russia, this time for a week of bear hunting on the Kamchatka peninsula. The court was told that K., 59—who had been responsible for investigating the Swiss financial arrangements of the Russian mafia and oligarchs—was fired from his post when the “unauthorized clandestine behavior” emerged.