UK Professor Deems US Nationals' Investments Into Russia 'Entirely Legal'

Sputnik: Speaking of the US investments into the Russian company Sibur, do you see any violations from the legal point of view?

Ronen Palan: On the face of it no, not necessarily. Of course, I don’t know because I haven’t seen the details of this investment but on the face of it, it is entirely legal to invest in offshore firms in Cayman Islands, in Bermuda or British Virgin Islands. It is entirely legal for a US citizen to invest into Russia through these particular firms. So no, legally I don’t see a particular problem.

Sputnik: Touching upon that then, what impact could this situation have on relations between Washington and Moscow?

Ronen Palan: It’s very hard to tell, and it’s primarily hard to tell because it is very difficult to predict the Trump’s administration policy. Trump himself, he’s not very consistent and may take diverging views, so I cannot predict what will be the effect on relations between the United States and Russia.