Alex van der Zwaan explained

Alex van der Zwaan
Birth Place:Brussels, Belgium
Nationality:Dutch[1]
Education:King's College London (LLB)
BPP University (LPC)[2]
Occupation:Attorney (Disbarred)
Employer:Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (2007–2017)
Criminal Charge:Making false statements
Criminal Status:Pardoned by Donald Trump; served sentence at FCI Allenwood Low, #35255-016;[3] subsequently deported
Relatives:German Khan (father-in-law)

Alex Rolf van der Zwaan[4] [5] (in Dutch; Flemish ˈaːlɛks fɑn dər ˈzʋaːn/;[6] born September 1984)[7] is a Belgian-born Dutch attorney[8] formerly with the London branch of New York–based international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.[9]

On 20 February 2018, he pleaded guilty[10] to one count of making a false statement to investigators while answering questions about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[11] [12] [13] He served 30 days in prison and was fined $20,000.[14] [15] [16] After serving his sentence, Van der Zwaan was deported to the Netherlands.[17] He was later pardoned in December 2020 by U.S. President Donald Trump.[18]

The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice was his firm's client and central to the indictment.[19] [20] In 2017, Skadden Arps refunded $567,000 billed by the firm to the Government of Ukraine.[21]

Education and career

Van der Zwaan, a Dutch citizen, was born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1984. He received his LL.B. at King's College London in 2006, and completing his Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School in 2007. He was admitted to practice law as a solicitor in England and Wales in September 2009.

He began working at the London office of the international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in 2007. At the firm, he worked on complex matters, including the freezing of assets of the rich, a legal tactic attempted by companies and billionaires in disputes with business partners.[22] He repeatedly assisted Ukrainian oligarch Gennadiy Bogolyubov, whose assets were at risk of being frozen by the London High Court on several occasions.

His work at the firm also included representing corporations, individuals and sovereign entities in various matters, including high-value and complex commercial litigation and arbitration, and government agency investigations. He assisted Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich's businesses in relation to mining assets in Ukraine.[23]

In November 2017, Van der Zwaan was fired from Skadden Arps for gross misconduct due to the false statements he made to the United States Special Counsel's Office. On 3 July 2019, Van der Zwaan was struck off the Roll of Solicitors in England and Wales following a judgment of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that he had acted dishonestly by knowingly and intentionally giving the Special Counsel's Office false information.[24]

Work on Skadden Arps' Ukrainian report, and criminal conviction

Van der Zwaan, who speaks Russian, was one of the eight attorneys[25] who worked on Skadden Arps's 2012 report, commissioned by the government of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych via Paul Manafort, that defended the prosecution, conviction and imprisonment of Yanukovych's rival, the country's former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.[26] [27] [28] Van der Zwaan worked closely with Gregory B. Craig in preparing the report, assisting with fact-finding and attending meetings in Ukraine.[29] He also served as rule-of-law consultant to the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. In a 2017 interview former United States ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst said that Skadden Arps "should have been ashamed" of the report, calling it "a nasty piece of work".[30]

In February 2018, Special Counsel investigation prosecutor Andrew Weissmann stated that, as part of Manafort's and Rick Gates's lobbying effort to improve Yanukovych's reputation in the United States, Van der Zwaan took an advance copy of the report in late July or early August 2012 without authorization, and gave it to a public-relations firm working for the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice—with one aim being to get the report published in The New York Times—and in September 2012 gave Gates talking points about the report. Prosecutors also said Van der Zwaan deleted emails sought by the special counsel's office—such as emails between him and Manafort associate Konstantin Kilimnik (known as "Person A"), including one requesting that Van der Zwaan use encrypted communications and one from September 2016—rather than turning them over to Skadden Arps, which was gathering documents for the special counsel.[31] [32]

In a 3 November 2017 interview with Special Counsel prosecutors and FBI agents, Van der Zwaan maintained that his last communication with Gates was an innocuous text in mid-August 2016 and that his last contact with Kilimnik was a 2014 discussion of the latter's family; prosecutors determined instead that he had discussed the 2012 Skadden Arps report with Gates and Kilimnik in September 2016 during phone calls that he surreptitiously recorded.[33] [29] Van der Zwaan acknowledged to Special Counsel investigators in an interview that Gates had told him of Kilimnik's ties to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), a Russian military intelligence agency.[34]

On 20 February 2018, Van der Zwaan pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to investigators. In his plea, he admitted to email deletions, and to lying when he told investigators that he had only a "passive role in the rollout of the report". The guilty plea did not include an agreement to cooperate with the Mueller investigation.[35]

At his sentencing hearing on 3 April 2018, he was sentenced to 30 days in prison followed by two months of supervised release, and fined $20,000.[36]

He was disbarred by the United Kingdom's Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal on 11 July 2019.[37]

In December 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Van der Zwaan in an eleventh-hour pardon prior to the end of Trump's four-year presidential term.[38] The pardon rescinds his U.S. criminal record, allowing him to legally return to the United States.

Personal life

, Van der Zwaan lives in London.[39] In June 2017, he married Eva Khan, daughter of the Russian billionaire German Khan, co-founder and co-owner of Alfa Group.[40] [41] [42] German Khan is suing BuzzFeed and the private investigation firm Fusion GPS over BuzzFeed's publication of the Steele dossier containing information about Trump's ties to Russia.[43] Van der Zwaan has Russian roots and has worked with a number of Russian oligarchs.[44] In addition to Dutch, he speaks fluent English, Russian, and French.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Cukier . Eva . Valk . Guus . Nederlandse advocaat bekent schuld over liegen in Ruslandonderzoek . 21 February 2018 . . 20 February 2018 . nl.
  2. Web site: Alex van der Zwaan . . https://web.archive.org/web/20170810125327/https://www.skadden.com/professionals/v/van-der-zwaan-alex . 10 August 2017.
  3. Web site: Inmate Locator . 8 May 2018 . Federal Bureau of Prisons. 9 May 2018.
  4. Web site: Alex Rolf Van Der Zwaan . . en-GB . 5 June 2018 . 17 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180617165143/http://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/person/7115/alex-rolf-van-der-zwaan . dead .
  5. Web site: Alex R. van der Zwaan. Newton Arbitration. 22 February 2018. 2017-01-16. 22 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180222170721/https://www.newtonarbitration.com/Arbitration/alex-r-van-der-zwaan/. dead.
  6. In isolation, van is pronounced in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /v?n/.
  7. Web site: 16 St Stephen's Gardens Limited. Companies House. 21 February 2018.
  8. News: Elster. Kristian. Mueller sikter advokat for løgn i Russland-granskingen. 21 February 2018. NRK. 20 February 2018.
  9. News: Dilanian. Ken. Williams. Pete. Winter. Tom. Connors. Tracy. Russia probe: Lawyer Alex van der Zwaan, oligarch's son-in-law, pleads guilty. 20 February 2018. NBC News. 20 February 2018.
  10. News: Viswanatha. Aruna. Quentin Wilber. Del. Associate of Gates Pleads Guilty to Lying to Mueller Team . 21 February 2018. The Wall Street Journal. 20 February 2018.
  11. News: Hsu. Spencer S.. Helderman. Rosalind S.. In Mueller probe, son-in-law of Russian businessman pleads guilty to false statements. 21 February 2018. The Washington Post. 20 February 2018.
  12. News: The Latest: Attorney Pleads Guilty to Lying. 21 February 2018. U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. 20 February 2018.
  13. Web site: United States of America v. Alex van der Zwaan. Apps.WashingtonPost.com. United States District Court for the District of Columbia. 20 February 2018. 16 February 2018. 12 September 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190912021533/http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/national/special-counsels-indictment-of-alex-van-der-zwaan/2778/. dead.
  14. News: Lawyer connected to Russia election interference investigation receives 30-day sentence . Johnson . Kevin . 3 April 2018 . USA Today . 4 April 2018.
  15. News: Ex-Skadden Lawyer Is Sentenced to 30 Days in Russia Inquiry . LaFraniere . Sharon . 3 April 2018 . The New York Times . 4 April 2018. 0362-4331.
  16. News: First Mueller convict reports to prison. Gerstein. Josh. 8 May 2018. Politico. 9 May 2018.
  17. Web site: Only person to serve time in Mueller investigation deported. Polantz. Katelyn. Kopan. Tal. 5 June 2018 . CNN. 5 June 2018.
  18. News: Haberman . Maggie . Schmidt . Michael S. . 2020-12-23 . Trump Pardons Two Russia Inquiry Figures and Blackwater Guards . en-US . The New York Times . 2020-12-23.
  19. News: Lawyer Charged With Lying in Mueller's Russia Probe. David . Voreacos . Stephanie . Baker . 20 February 2018 . Bloomberg. 20 February 2018.
  20. News: Mueller charges attorney with lying to the FBI over contacts with former Trump campaign official . Dan . Mangan . Breuninger . Kevin. 20 February 2018 . . 20 February 2018 .
  21. News: Kovensky. Josh. Justice Ministry investigation nets unexpected $567,000 windfall for state budget. 20 February 2018. Kyiv Post. 17 November 2017. 25 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210425042208/https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/justice-ministry-investigation-nets-unexpected-567000-windfall-state-budget.html. dead.
  22. News: Garschagen. Melle. Nederlandse advocaat raakte verstrikt in Rusland-dossier. 22 February 2018. NRC Handelsblad. 21 February 2018. nl.
  23. News: Shubber. Kadhim. Massoudi. Arash. Thompson. Barney. Skadden's oligarch work comes into focus after Mueller charges. 6 April 2018. Financial Times. 23 February 2018.
  24. News: Solicitor jailed by US over Russia interview is struck off . Law Society . 2019-07-12 . 2019-07-17 .
  25. News: Skadden Arps Could be Subject to USDoJ Complaint over Ukrainian Deal. 22 February 2018. Law Fuel. 13 January 2013.
  26. News: LaFraniere. Sharon. Vogel . Kenneth P.. Kenneth P. Vogel. Former Skadden Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Lying in Russia Investigation. 12 February 2018. The New York Times. 20 February 2018.
  27. News: Eckel. Mike. Lawyer Pleads Guilty In Latest Move In Mueller Investigation. 21 February 2018. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 20 February 2018.
  28. News: Baker. Stephanie. Krasnolutska. Daryna. Manafort Charges Renew Questions About Skadden's Work in Ukraine. 21 February 2018. Bloomberg News. 10 November 2017.
  29. Solicitors Regulation Authority v Van der Zwaan . Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal . 2019-07-03 . https://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/sites/default/files-sdt/11923.2019.%20Van%20Der%20Zwaan.pdf . PDF .
  30. News: Skadden, Big New York Law Firm, Faces Questions on Work With Manafort. Vogel. Kenneth P.. Kenneth P. Vogel. 21 September 2017. The New York Times. 21 February 2018. Kramer. Andrew E..
  31. News: Day. Chad. Tucker. Eric. Attorney admits he lied to Mueller's federal agents. San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. 20 February 2018. 20 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180220175250/https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/politics/article/Trump-Dems-defended-election-integrity-until-12626683.php. 2018-02-20. dead.
  32. News: What This Lawyer's Guilty Plea Tells Us About Mueller's Investigation . Dan . Friedman . . 20 February 2018 . 27 March 2018.
  33. News: Day. Chad. Tucker. Eric. Associate of ex-Trump adviser pleads guilty to making false statements in Russia investigation. 21 February 2018. Star Tribune. Associated Press. 20 February 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180220195451/http://www.startribune.com/mueller-charges-associate-of-ex-trump-adviser-of-making-false-statements-in-russia-investigation/474591263/. 2018-02-20. dead.
  34. News: Mueller team reveals Manafort business associate's connection to Russian intel service. Greenwood. Max. 28 March 2018. The Hill. 28 March 2018.
  35. News: David . Voreacos . Erik. Larson. Andrew M. . Harris. Steven T. . Dennis. Mueller Gets Plea, No Cooperation, as Skadden Lawyer Admits Lies. 20 February 2018. Bloomberg News. 22 February 2018.
  36. News: Voreacos . David . Larson . Erik . Lawyer Who Lied to Mueller About Russian Spy Gets 30 Days . 3 April 2018 . Bloomberg News . 3 April 2018.
  37. Web site: Ex-Skadden Associate Loses Law License for Lying in Mueller Probe Law.com.
  38. Web site: Trump pardons ex-campaign aide, Blackwater contractors and disgraced lawmakers. TheGuardian.com. 23 December 2020 .
  39. News: Day. Chad. Tucker. Eric. Attorney admits he lied to Mueller's federal agents. 21 February 2018. Chicago Sun-Times. Associated Press. 20 February 2018.
  40. News: Семь главных свадеб лета 2017 по версии Tatler. 21 February 2018. Tatler. 13 August 2017. ru.
  41. News: Trump-Russia inquiry: Lawyer Alex van der Zwaan pleads guilty. 21 February 2018. BBC News. 20 February 2018.
  42. News: Chad . Day . Eric. Tucker. Mueller Charges Son-in-Law of Russian Oligarch for Allegedly Lying About Communications With Gates. . 20 February 2018. 20 February 2018.
  43. News: Josh. Gerstein . Kyle . Cheney. Mueller charges latest target in Russia probe. Politico. 20 February 2018. 20 February 2018.
  44. News: Sheth. Sonam. Mueller launches another salvo in his quest to flip Paul Manafort in the Russia investigation. 22 February 2018. Business Insider. 20 February 2018.

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