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No longer VIP: The pursuit of black money by Russian oligarchs Israel today

2022-03-28T15:42:15.452Z


For years the Russian oligarchs managed to disguise their black money well, money they actually robbed from the public coffers • But the war in Ukraine devoured the cards and the forgiving policies of the countries of the world became a real hunter


For decades, the group close to Russian President Vladimir Putin robbed the public purse and became very rich.

This is a takeover of public capital that was supposed to be directed to the rehabilitation of the state as well as money obtained from the profits of Russian companies like Gazprom. 

Russian opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Milov claimed at the time that between 2004 and 2007 alone, $ 60 billion of oil giant Gazprom's money had been transferred to Putin's associates.

According to an American economic source in the Atlantic Council - the leading Washington research institute, the Russian president's associates hold an imaginary sum of one trillion dollars!

The money is used for espionage, industrial espionage, terrorism, bribery, election bribery, political manipulation, misinformation and more.

What's happening in Cyprus

One of the tax havens and black money, is Cyprus, which also got to be called Moscow on the sea because of the tremendous takeover of properties by oligarchs there.

According to Atlantic Council research, $ 36 billion of Russian money flowed to the island in 2013 alone. The money was transferred through companies and straw men to obscure its origins.

Coast of Cyprus, favorite destination, Photo: Getty Images

The money was transferred to Cyprus because of the convenient taxation on the island and the fact that it is begging for money.

However, Cyprus is already less attractive today because in 2013 the International Monetary Fund intervened on the island and persuaded the regime to close tens of thousands of bank accounts held by straw men and straw companies.

The small British territories

Even after Britain ceased to be an empire, small islands remained around the globe that chose to remain under the British crown.

These are islands such as the Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands.

The remoteness of these places, their loneliness and the need of these small governments to make a living made them an attractive destination for black Russian money.

A 2018 Global Witness report estimated that all Russian oligarchs have in the banks of the two countries an estimated sum of $ 45.5 billion.

Properties in London and New York

One of the ways that Russian money was laundered was by buying properties in world-famous cities like London and New York.

There it was possible to invest the money in various assets, by straw companies and by huge bodies of lawyers specializing in the subject, and reap a return.

New York, Buying Property, Photo: Getty Images

According to an international organization investigating and exposing corruption, the entire UK has $ 2 billion worth of assets owned by oligarchs.

19 Russian banks assisted those oligarchs and became a kind of money launderer.

Between 2011 and 2014, these banks launder about $ 21 billion in black.

According to the BBC the money is hidden by strata of various straw companies and brokers.

According to the international newspaper Pandora, in 2016 there were 2,071 straw companies operating in the world in favor of wealthy Russians. 

Western measures against the system

Russia's invasion of Ukraine was in some ways the straw that broke the camel's back.

Many countries woke up, began to act against Russian black capital through money tracking bodies.

The US, for example, has set up a new operational body to be operated by the Ministry of Justice aimed at seizing black Russian money.

The UK government has also used orders requiring anyone who is exceptionally wealthy and has a lot of money to provide explanations.

It also ordered by legal orders to freeze assets and accounts if there is a suspicion that the source of the money is not kosher.

Britain also abolished its “golden visa program,” which granted residency rights to wealthy foreigners if they invested money in the country.

Malta, an island nation that has also been a recognized tax haven for years, has also scrapped its "golden passport" program that allowed oligarchs to buy citizenship.

It is interesting to note that Cyprus and Bulgaria canceled their gold passport plans as early as 2020.

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-03-28

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