Son-in-law of one of Russia’s richest men jailed in Trump-Russia inquiry

Alex van der Zwaan is married to daughter of one of Russia’s richest men, German Khan

The son-in-law of one of Russia’s richest men have been sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators about contacts with ex-Trump aide Rick Gates.

He is the first person to be jailed as part of the FBI inquiry into alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team and Russia.

He struck a plea deal in February.

Van der Zwaan is the 19th person to be charged by special counsel Robert Mueller.

The indictment against him did not refer to the 2016 election campaign. Mr Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

In March, the US imposed sanctions on 19 Russians, including 13 people charged by Mr Mueller’s inquiry, over accusations of interference in the 2016 election and alleged cyber-attacks.

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In court on Tuesday, Van der Zwaan was also fined $20,000 and sentenced to two months of supervised release.

Who is Van der Zwaan?

The Dutchman is a London-based lawyer who formerly worked at international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is probing Trump-Russia inquiry

The firm, which is co-operating with the investigation and which fired him last year, worked with former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort and his ex-colleague Mr Gates at a time when they were both political consultants in Ukraine.

Van der Zwaan, who speaks French and Russian and graduated from King’s College London in 2006, is married to the daughter of Russian billionaire German Khan.

His wedding to art critic Eva Khan featured in Russian Tatler magazine last year. German Khan controls Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest investment groups, and Alfa Bank, which he co-founded, is the largest non-state owned bank in Russia, according to Forbes.

Van der Zwaan reached a plea deal with the special counsel in February.

What were the accusations?

According to court documents, Van der Zwaan “wilfully and knowingly” made false statements to investigators while answering questions about a report prepared in 2012 by his former law firm for the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice on the trial of Yulia Tymoshenko.

Ms Tymoshenko, a former Ukrainian prime minister, was jailed in 2011 over a gas deal with Russia, in charges she said were politically motivated.

Mr Mueller’s indictment said Van der Zwaan “deleted and otherwise did not produce emails sought by the special counsel’s office” and made a false statement about when he was last in contact with Mr Gates and “Person A”, who has not been identified. Person A is noted as a long-term business associate of Mr Gates and Mr Manafort.

Mr Gates and Mr Manafort have been hit with a number of charges, including conspiracy to launder money and acting as as “unregistered agents” of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his party.

Mr Yanukovych was a bitter rival Tymoshenko and defeated her to become president in 2010. He was later ousted.

Mr Manafort has denied all charges against him. Mr Gates has admitted conspiracy and lying to investigators in a plea deal.