Russian Lawyer Who Attended Trump Tower Meeting Charged in Unrelated Laundering Case
Federal prosecutors in New York charged Russian attorney Natalya Veselnytskaya on Dec. 20, with obstruction of justice for her role in defending a money laundering case in the United States.
Veselnytskaya is best known for attending the 2016 Trump Tower meeting with senior members of the Trump campaign, but the federal indictment unsealed on Jan. 8 is not directly related to the meeting or the special counsel investigation by Robert Mueller.
Instead, the grand jury charges Veselnytskaya with obstructing justice for cooperating with a senior Russian government official in drafting a response to U.S. prosecutors in a separate case.
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Oil Tanker Fire in Hong Kong Waters Kills One, Rescue Going on
An oil tanker caught fire in Hong Kong’s southern waters on Jan. 8, killing one crew member while at least 21 were rescued, police said, with witnesses reporting a loud blast that shook windows several kilometers away.
The ship’s name, Aulac Fortune, is a small oil product tanker built in 2010, sailing under Vietnamese flag, according to data from Marine Traffic.
Ship tracking data shows it last loaded 6,000 tonnes of gasoline, most of which was delivered to Guangzhou between Jan. 6 and 7.
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“Macron, Resign!” Yellow Vest Protesters Back In Paris
Thousands of yellow vest protesters were back on the streets of Paris last Saturday, flooding the Champs Elysees and calling for the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron.
Saturday’s protest comes after the French government dismissed the protesters as agitators whose only goal was to topple it, signaling a toughening stance against the movement.
The protests in the capital were organized and the Paris police department was alerted to their planned route. The protesters marched from the Champs Elysees to the city’s former stock exchange in Paris’s busy shopping district.
Nissan’S ex-Chair Ghosn Appears in Court, Asserts Innocence
The former chairman of Japan’s Nissan Motor Co., Carlos Ghosn, denied any wrongdoing and proclaimed his loyalty to the company at a court hearing in Tokyo on Jan. 8.
It was Ghosn’s first public appearance since he was arrested on Nov. 19.
Prosecutors have charged Ghosn with falsifying financial reports in underreporting his income by about $44 million over five years through 2015.
They also say he is suspected of having Nissan temporarily take on his investment losses from the financial crisis.
