checking with Kushner to see what he had learned, Hicks conveyed Putin’s letter 974 to transition officials. Five days later, on November 14, 2016, Trump and Putin spoke by phone in the presence of Transition Team members, including 975 incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. b. High-Level Encouragement of Contacts through Alternative Channels As Russian officials in the United States reached out to the President-Elect and his team, a number of Russian individuals working in the private sector began their own efforts to make contact. Petr Aven, a Russian national who heads Alfa-Bank, Russia’s largest commercial bank, described to the Office interactions with Putin during this time period that might account for the flurry 976 of Russian activity. Aven told the Office that he is one of approximately 50 wealthy Russian businessmen who regularly meet with Putin in the Kremlin; these 50 men are 977 often referred to as “oligarchs.” Aven told the Office that he met on a quarterly basis with Putin, including in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2016, shortly 978 after the U.S. presidential election. Aven said that he took these meetings seriously and understood that any suggestions or critiques that Putin made during these meetings were implicit directives, and that there would be 979 consequences for Aven if he did not follow through. As was typical, the 2016 Q4 meeting with Putin was preceded by a preparatory meeting with Putin’s chief 980 of staff, Anton Vaino. 981 According to Aven, at his Q4 2016 one-on-one meeting with Putin, Putin raised the prospect that the United States would impose additional sanctions on 982 Russian interests, including sanctions against Aven and/or Alfa-Bank. Putin 983 suggested that Aven needed to take steps to protect himself and Alfa-Bank. Aven also testified that Putin spoke of the difficulty faced by the Russian 984 government in getting in touch with the incoming Trump Administration. According to Aven, Putin indicated that he did not know with whom formally to 985 speak and generally did not know the people around the President-Elect.