Sokolov
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an 9 26
A very wealthy donor to President Donald Trump scored a deal with a Russian state-owned bank that would normally be off-limits due to sanctions, the International Consortium of Independent Journalists reported.
Konstantin Sokolov is a Russian-American businessman and a major donor to Trump's political groups. In 2025, he gave $11 million to MAGA Inc., the president's super PAC, and also contributed to Trump’s White House ballroom project.
Trump signed off on new sanctions last week. The new sanctions would target Russian officials, financial institutions, energy and defense sectors and oil-shipping networks. It also authorizes tariffs of up to 100 percent on major purchasers of Russian oil and gas, one explainer outlined.
But already, Trump's funder is exempt, according to a Treasury Department decision. Sokolov will be able to buy a major copper mine in Armenia from the Russian state-owned bank.
"The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC, can grant a license to individuals or companies to complete transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by sanctions," the ICIJ explained. "OFAC states on its website that it may grant a license to do business with sanctioned Russian entities when it is in the interest of the applicant and the U.S. government."
Sokolov's spokesperson confirmed that such approval was given.
Sokolov was also appointed chairman of a new $200 million State Department enterprise fund that will invest in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, which is a strategic geographic region at the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Armenia is expected to benefit. That means Sokolov has two overlapping roles: first, he owns or manages private businesses in Armenia, including the copper mine. Second, Sokolov helps oversee a U.S. government-backed investment fund that may invest in Armenia.
Armenian lawmakers and critics are concerned that the relationship creates a potential conflict of interest by essentially granting Sokolov public or government-supported investment and decision-making in a country where he also has large private financial interests.
Armenia’s National Assemblymember Mesrop Manukyan said when speaking to the ICIJ that Sokolov’s position “create[s] legitimate questions about … the separation between private commercial interest and decisions involving public or government-backed funds.”
Sokolov's spokesperson also claimed there was “no evidential basis” to link Sokolov's donations to Trump and approval by Trump's government. Suggesting otherwise “would be incorrect and wholly misplaced," they added.
While the administration and Sokolov deny any corruption, the report raises legitimate questions about transparency, favoritism and whether private business interests could overlap with Trump's government power.
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[### Russian firm sells off Armenia's biggest telecoms provider
CivilNet
https://www.civilnet.am › news › russian-firm-sells-off-ar...](https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/762978/russian-firm-sells-off-armenias-biggest-telecoms-provider/)
Jan 27, 2024 — The new Cyprus-based owner then said it plans to cede a 20% stake in the mobile network operator to the Armenian government. One of Armenia's ...
[### Another Foreign Investor Gives Armenian Government ...
Ազատություն Ռադիոկայան
https://www.azatutyun.am › ...](https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32793344.html)
Jan 26, 2024 — A Cyprus-registered company has pledged to donate a 20 percent stake in one of Armenia's three mobile phone operators to the Armenian government.
[### Our history | About us - Viva
viva.am
https://www.viva.am › about-us › viva-to-armenia › ou...](https://www.viva.am/en/about-us/viva-to-armenia/our-history)
Fedilco Group Limited is a company incorporated in Cyprus, ultimate beneficiaries of the company are Zhe Zhang and Konstantin Sokolov. Considering the strategic ...
[### The shareholder of Viva-MTS has changed: The company ...
NEWS.am
https://news.am › eng › news](https://news.am/eng/news/803764.html)
Jan 24, 2024 — Zhe Zhang and Mr. Konstantin Sokolov are professional investors with a diverse background in telecommunications, finance, energy, investment and ...
| Type: | Individual | List: | SDN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name: | KUDRYAVTSEV | Program: | NPWMD; MAGNIT |
| First Name: | Konstantin | Nationality: | Russia |
| Title: | Citizenship: | ||
| Date of Birth: | 28 Apr 1980; 28 Apr 1979 | Remarks: | (Linked To: FEDERAL SECURITY SERVICE) |
| Place of Birth: |
Identifications:
| Type | ID# | Country | Issue Date | Expire Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
Aliases:
| Type | Category | Name |
|---|---|---|
| a.k.a. | strong | KUDRYAVTSEV, Konstantin Borisovich |
| a.k.a. | strong | SOKOLOV, Konstantin |
| a.k.a. | strong | SOKOLOV, Konstantin Yevgenievich |
Addresses:
| Address | City | State/Province | Postal Code | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia |
chic trib
Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune
April 15, 2025
A Russian-born entrepreneur and private equity investor whose career was launched at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business is paying it forward with a $100 million donation to the executive MBA program that made it possible.
Konstantin Sokolov, 49, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his graduation this month, is hoping the gift will open doors and change lives for the next generation of business leaders, as it did for him, a young Russian immigrant at the dawn of the new millennium.
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the shift malta cits
Friends in high places
Konstantin Vitalievich Khodosovosky (in featured photo), together with three of his family members, acquired a Maltese passport last year. Khodosovosky is a wealthy businessman who, according to versia.ru, has amassed a fortune from government contracts on which only Khodosovsky’s companies placed a bid.
LLC Technosphere and Technosphere Engineering LLC, two of Khodosovsky’s main business arms, have received government roadworks and highway-building contracts worth a total of 20 billion RUB, or roughly €236.5 million, from 2019 – 2021. The Russian press attributes the fortune made by Khodosovsky’s companies to his close association with Maxim Sokolov, St Petersburg’s vice-governor for transport.
Sokolov has past business links with Khodosovsky through Andrei Molchanov, the chairman of LSR Group‘s executive committee, a massive Russian construction conglomerate. Sokolov was Molchanov’s business partner and friend during the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent flurry of privatisation of State interests. Khodosovsky previously headed OJSC Rudas, a gravel and sandpit development company acquired by LSR Group in 1997.
St Petersburg’s vice-governor for transport also has a familial link with Khodosovsky who is known to be an avid hunter often going on hunting trips with Yuri Ryskov, a former army colonel who is also Sokolov’s father-in-law.
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