Russia's State Duma refuses to investigate a lawmaker identified in the ‘Paradise Papers’

A State Duma commission has refused to consider an appeal by the independent television station Dozhd to investigate the assets declaration of United Russia deputy Alexey Ezubov, who journalists believe may be hiding an offshore account in the Bermuda Islands.

Natalia Poklonskaya, a former Crimean attorney general and now a controversial federal lawmaker, says that Dozhd failed to provide supporting documents for its claim, sharing only “certain information from the Internet and mass media.”

Ezubov’s name appears records from 2013 leaked in the so-called Paradise Papers, which identify him as the director of the Bermuda Air Cloud Services Limited company. Ezubov has refused to comment on the story.