A wealthy donor to President Donald Trump has secured a deal with a Russian state-owned bank that would ordinarily be off-limits under sanctions, according to reporting by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

Konstantin Sokolov, a Russian-American businessman, is a major contributor to Trump's political groups. In 2025, he gave $11 million to MAGA Inc., the president's super PAC, and also donated to Trump's White House ballroom project. Super PACs such as MAGA Inc. may accept unlimited contributions from individuals, provided their spending remains independent of the campaigns they back.

Last week, Trump signed off on new sanctions targeting Russian officials, financial institutions, the energy and defense sectors, and oil-shipping networks. The measures also authorize tariffs of up to 100 percent on major purchasers of Russian oil and gas, one explainer outlined.

Yet according to a Treasury Department decision, Trump's funder is already exempt. Sokolov will be permitted to purchase a major copper mine in Armenia from the Russian state-owned bank. Copper is a core industrial metal used in power grids, construction, and electric vehicles, giving major producing mines significance well beyond their local economies.

"The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC can grant a license to individuals or companies to complete transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by sanctions," the ICIJ explained. "OFAC states on its website that it may grant a license to do business with sanctioned Russian entities when it is in the interest of the applicant and the U.S. government."

Sokolov's spokesperson confirmed that such approval was granted.

Separately, Sokolov was appointed chairman of a new $200 million State Department enterprise fund that will invest in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, a strategically located region at the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. Enterprise funds are government-backed investment vehicles created to channel capital into private-sector development in a designated region. Armenia is expected to benefit from the fund.

That means Sokolov holds two overlapping roles: he owns or manages private businesses in Armenia, including the copper mine, while also helping oversee a U.S. government-backed investment fund that may put money into the same country.

Armenian lawmakers and critics say the arrangement creates a potential conflict of interest by effectively granting Sokolov public or government-supported investment and decision-making power in a country where he holds substantial private financial interests.

Mesrop Manukyan, a member of Armenia's National Assembly, told the ICIJ that Sokolov's position "create[s] legitimate questions about … the separation between private commercial interest and decisions involving public or government-backed funds."

Sokolov's spokesperson also said there was "no evidential basis" to connect his donations to Trump with approvals from Trump's government, adding that suggesting otherwise "would be incorrect and wholly misplaced."

Both the administration and Sokolov deny any corruption. Still, the report raises questions about transparency and favoritism, and about whether private business interests may overlap with the power of Trump's government.