How a right wing party in Albania, a Trump associate, and a network around Deripaska converge

On July 16, 2018, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump stand side by side in Helsinki. The question is old and has become more uncomfortable. Did Russia exert influence, did money play a role. Putin answers briefly. Even if individual businessmen had acted, it had nothing to do with the state. A sentence that separates more than it explains.

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at the joint press conference in Helsinki on July 16, 2018

What follows are years of traces. A declassified assessment by American intelligence agencies from 2022 speaks of more than 300 million dollars that are said to have flowed to political actors worldwide. Without a complete list, without final attribution. Albania appears in it, without being explained in detail at the time. Now part of it can be traced.

Tabular overview from the leaked documents: shows the linkage of multiple offshore companies and their assignment to a shared structure.

The documents come from a major data leak, known as the Pandora Papers. They show not a single event, but a system. Companies in Scotland, accounts in Liechtenstein, connections to Hong Kong, Cyprus, and Singapore. In between are names that appear in different contexts and only connect when viewed as a whole.

Advisory agreement between two offshore companies - part of the financial structure through which millions were moved within the Deripaska network.

Oleg Deripaska, Russian oligarch and industrialist, founder of the EN+ Group and majority shareholder of Rusal as well as a key figure behind the GAZ Group - his extensive corporate network is at the center of the analyzed financial structures.

At the center stands Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch who built his wealth in the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and created a global corporation with EN+. His name had already appeared in the investigations of Robert Mueller, who from 2017 examined connections between Russia and Trump’s circle. One focus was on Paul Manafort, who maintained business relationships with Deripaska for years. Deripaska was not charged, but the investigations described him as an actor with influence in the background.

Contract excerpt for the operation of a Gulfstream G550 (OE-IKH): structure via companies in Hong Kong and on the Isle of Man, operationally handled by AVCON Jet in Vienna.

The trail leads from there to Albania, to the year 2017. The political situation is tense. Edi Rama runs for the Socialists, the opposition Democratic Party under Lulzim Basha positions itself increasingly to the right and openly aligns with Donald Trump. The slogan is adapted, from “Make America Great Again” to “Make Albania Great Again.” It does not remain words.

Lulzim Basha together with Donald Trump at an event in the United States in 2017 - the image was published by Basha and deliberately used in the Albanian election campaign to demonstrate political proximity.

The party seeks access to Washington. To do so, Nick Muzin is hired, a Republican who worked in the orbit of Trump’s first campaign. Muzin organizes appearances, brokers contacts, brings Basha into conservative media and to political meetings. A photo with Trump is created, spreads in Albania, and serves exactly the purpose for which it was made.

Consulting contract dated March 20, 2017 between Biniatta Trade LP and Stonington Strategies, a firm from the orbit of Republican lobbyist Nick Muzin - documenting the commissioning of political influence work in Washington.

Officially, the party later states that it paid Muzin itself. But investigations and the documents now available show a different picture. A substantial portion of the money came from a Scottish company with an inconspicuous name: Biniatta Trade LP. A construction that appears repeatedly in such cases. Little transparency, few reporting requirements, barely any recognizable economic activity.

For a long time, it was unclear who stood behind this company. The new documents show that Biniatta was part of a larger network that is connected through multiple layers to Deripaska and his corporation. This shifts the question. It is no longer just about a payment, but about the origin of that money.

Muzin himself initially reported earnings of 75,000 dollars for his work. Later he corrected this figure to 675,000 dollars. The change occurred at a time when pressure on lobbyists was growing to disclose their activities. Shortly before, Paul Manafort had been indicted. The connection is not proven, but the timing is striking.

At the same time, the network expands. A Russian lawyer, Eduard Blokhin, manages a large number of such companies through his firm. Biniatta Trade LP is integrated into a web of additional companies. Six new firms are created, accounts are opened, almost all at a private bank in Liechtenstein, Bendura Bank. Officially, the companies are supposed to engage in goods trading. In reality, extensive money movements begin shortly after the accounts are opened.

The figures are concrete. Around 55 million euros in loans and contracts can be traced between the end of 2017 and August 2018. About two thirds of this is linked to Deripaska or his environment. The rest comes from anonymous companies in several countries. Money is moved back and forth, partly within the same network. Loans are issued, secured, and passed on.

Loan agreement between offshore companies: documents the transfer of funds within an internationally layered corporate network.

Loan agreement of up to 9 million euros between offshore companies from the British Virgin Islands and the Marshall Islands - part of a network through which financial flows between affiliated entities were organized.

One example shows the structure. One company lends millions, a second guarantees the loan, a third is in turn connected to the first. A former investigator describes such constructions as artificial. The economic purpose is not recognizable, the paths unnecessarily complex. Exactly such patterns are considered an indication that money is being concealed.

Documents from Bendura Bank (Liechtenstein): list key offshore companies such as Biniatta Trade LP and Caligula Holding Ltd as business partners and show a planned transaction volume in the millions.

Specific uses also appear. Millions flow to a company connected to a former EN+ manager. Other amounts go to a firm that operates a private jet used in the environment of Deripaska’s family. Individual contracts provide for consulting fees in the millions. The structure remains the same. Money moves without it becoming clear why.

Flight records of a Gulfstream G550 (OE-IKH), documenting a connection between Moscow and London - used by Tatiana and Valentin Yumashev, individuals from the environment of Russian power structures.

In April 2018, the United States imposes sanctions on Russian elites, including Deripaska and EN+. The justification speaks of global activities and attempts to influence Western democracies. Shortly afterward, the network changes. Companies are renamed, responsible parties are replaced, structures are adjusted.

An internal message shows how seriously the situation is assessed. It is recommended to change names and appoint new directors so that no trail leads back. A few weeks later, Biniatta Trade LP is renamed. In 2019, the company is dissolved. In Albania, the case remains open. The public prosecutor investigates, later drops the case. The Democratic Party states that it paid only a small part of the sum itself. Why the majority flowed through an external company remains unanswered.

The story does not end there. Before the 2025 election, a similar pattern appears again. Once more, individuals from Trump’s circle work for the party. Once more, it involves millions. A foundation that finances the lobbying effort is established only shortly before the contract is concluded. Information about donors is missing, although it is legally required.

Already then more than just a diplomatic relationship

In the end, what remains is not a single piece of evidence, but a structure. Money flowing through companies that are barely traceable. Contacts that are deliberately built. Images that create political proximity. And a connection that is not contained in a single document, but emerges from many.

The question from Helsinki remains. Who is acting. And for whom.

To be continued .....