A Dutch lawyer has become the first person to be formally sentenced in US special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
London-based Alex van der Zwaal, 33, was handed a 30-day prison sentence and fined $20,000 (£14,200) after admitting that he had lied to investigators about contacts with former Trump aide Rick Gates, and failed to turn over emails to Mueller’s team in February.
The BBC reports that Van der Zwaan is “the son-in-law of one of Russia’s richest men”, who formerly worked for international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
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The law firm, which represented ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort and his former business partner Rick Gates while they were working as political consultants in Ukraine, is reportedly cooperating with Mueller’s investigation.
CNN says investigators are looking into Van der Zwaan’s “communications with Gates and a person with Russian intelligence ties” as part of the ongoing probe.
In a court filing about Van der Zwaan’s sentencing last week, Mueller’s team said the lawyer and Gates were in contact with a colleague named only as “Person A”, a former Russian spy with Russian military intelligence wing GRU.
While “Person A” was not identified, The Guardian reports the description in the court filing “appeared to match Konstantin Kilimnik, a former Russian army linguist” who operated Manafort’s office in Kiev from 2014.
Van der Zwaan had faced a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000 for lying to investigators.
