Former US Official Claims That A Russian Businessman's Ties To The Kremlin Could Prove To Be An Intelligence 'Gold Mine' For The US.

Former US officials tell CNN that a Russian businessman who appeared in US court Monday on securities fraud charges might be a significant asset in US efforts to obtain additional information on Russian election meddling and other intelligence operations.

Vladislav Klyushin's Moscow-based cybersecurity firm's work with the Russian government, as well as Klyushin's alleged relationship with an ex-Russian GRU military intelligence officer, will likely be of great interest to US law enforcement and intelligence officials, according to former Justice Department and Homeland Security officials.

On Monday, the Russian billionaire, who is in his early 40s, appeared via videoconference in federal court in Massachusetts for what was intended to be an arraignment hearing. According to Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler, Klyushin's lawyer in the United States, Maksim Nemtsev, did not file the necessary papers for the hearing to proceed. The arraignment has been rescheduled for Wednesday.

Klyushin and four other Russian men have been charged with an extensive insider trading conspiracy that includes hacking into companies that Tesla and other corporations used to file Securities and Exchange Commission reports, according to US authorities.

The US government has not publicly linked Klyushin to Russian political meddling in 2016. But Ivan Ermakov, one of Klyushin's co-defendants in the securities fraud case, was one of a dozen GRU officers accused in 2018 by a federal grand jury for participating in the 2016 election by hacking and releasing documents from the Democratic National Committee.