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Commerce leader has stake in firm tied to Putin orbit, report says

(J. Scott Applewhite | The Associated Press) In this Oct. 12, 2017, photo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross appears before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Capitol Hill in Washington. Newly leaked documents show that Ross has a stake in a shipping company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

New York • Newly leaked documents show that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has a stake in a shipping company that does business with a gas producer partly owned by the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The group of journalists behind the Panama Papers reports that leaked records show Ross has a stake in Navigator Holdings. Navigator got 8 percent of its revenue last year shipping gas from Sibur.

Sibur was once more than 20 percent owned by Putin's son-in law.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is reporting on a leak of 13.4 million records of offshore entities in tax havens.

The group quotes a Commerce Department spokesman as saying that Ross joined the Navigator board only after it began its Sibur shipments and that he abides by the "highest ethical standards."