Tag: Russian

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Article: Companies House, my virtual Russian squatter and me

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Companies House, my virtual Russian squatter and me

CYNTHIA O’MURCHU , 30 June 2021

If Britain’s company registry is to be believed, my family and I have been sharing our dwelling with a Russian in his mid-forties. For a time, our place doubled as an office for his start-up, which he set up last year, and in which he is the sole shareholder.

The trouble is, it’s not true. We have never heard of “the Russian”. But evicting our virtual squatter turned out to be complex — and costly.

Trawling through public records is the backbone of my work as I follow global money flows searching for evidence of financial fraud or accounting acrobatics. So I’m aware that records at the UK corporate registry, Companies House, contain errors and lies. Continue reading “Article: Companies House, my virtual Russian squatter and me”

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Article: Russian central bank to expand market manipulation criteria

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Russian central bank to expand market manipulation criteria

Elena Fabrichnaya, 13 May 2021

MOSCOW, May 13 (Reuters) – Russia’s central bank said on Thursday it plans to expand a list of actions deemed to be market manipulation, facing a need to protect growing numbers of retail investors after a series of cases involving what it called malicious transactions.

Retail investors flooded to the market in 2020 as central bank rate cuts reduced the appeal of bank deposits and the COVID-19 pandemic left people working from home and with time to spare. Continue reading “Article: Russian central bank to expand market manipulation criteria”

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Article: Top official warns of ‘disturbing’ amount of Russian money laundering in UK

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Top official warns of ‘disturbing’ amount of Russian money laundering in UK

Stefan Boscia, 25 January 2021

One of the UK’s top officials in monitoring economic crime has today warned about the “disturbing” prevalence of Russian money laundering in London, claiming up to half of all money laundered from the country is done through the UK.

Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Economic Crime Centre, told MPs today that it was “too easy to set up companies here” and that Russian “laundromats” were exploiting the UK’s corporate structure to launder billions of pounds. Continue reading “Article: Top official warns of ‘disturbing’ amount of Russian money laundering in UK”

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Article: Semion Mogilevich Today: Where Is the Notorious Ukrainian-Russian Mobster?

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Semion Mogilevich Today: Where Is the Notorious Ukrainian-Russian Mobster?

A new true crime documentary series dropped on Netflix on August 5, World’s Most Wanted, which profiles five of the most notorious fugitives of the past few decades.

One of the episodes focuses on Ukrainian-Russian mobster Semion Mogilevich, who is considered by many agencies to be the “boss of bosses” of the majority of Russian mafia organizations.

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Article: Russian cybercriminal sentenced to 12 years for ‘massive hacking campaign’ impacting 100 million US citizens

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Russian cybercriminal sentenced to 12 years for ‘massive hacking campaign’ impacting 100 million US citizens

Jessica Haworth, 08 January 2021

A Russian citizen has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for his involvement in a “massive” computer hacking campaign that saw the theft of 100 million individuals’ data.

Andrei Tyurin, 37, of Moscow, was handed a 144-month detention order by a New York court yesterday for his part in the cybercrime operation against US financial institutions, brokerage firms, news publishers, and other targets. Continue reading “Article: Russian cybercriminal sentenced to 12 years for ‘massive hacking campaign’ impacting 100 million US citizens”

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Article: Top official implicated in corruption scam with FSB links

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Top official implicated in corruption scam with FSB links

The Bell, 08 March 2021

The Russian banking sector was rocked by the arrest of several high-ranking FSB officers last year who covered up a bribery scandal (as reported by The Bell and investigative outlet Proekt). This week, we learned of yet another player in the scam — the deputy head of state-owned Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) that manages failing banks. An investigation by Meduza, VTimes and Proekt found that one of the agency’s senior managers set up a system that diverted funds to rescue struggling banks into the pockets of contractors (who paid kickbacks). Continue reading “Article: Top official implicated in corruption scam with FSB links”

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Article: Bill Browder threatens legal action over Swiss bank accounts linked to Magnitsky scandal

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Bill Browder threatens legal action over Swiss bank accounts linked to Magnitsky scandal

Sam Jones, 25 November 2020

High-profile Kremlin critic and investor Bill Browder has threatened Credit Suisse and UBS with legal action for breaching US sanctions if they unfreeze accounts belonging to three Russian clients accused of a huge tax fraud against his investment company.

The two Swiss banks hold assets worth more than $24 million (CHF21.8 million), which Browder says were gained from fraud perpetrated in Russia against his investment business, Hermitage Capital, in 2007. Continue reading “Article: Bill Browder threatens legal action over Swiss bank accounts linked to Magnitsky scandal”

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Article: Investigations Newsletter: Russian National Sentenced to Prison for $100 Million Cyber Fraud Conspiracy

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Investigations Newsletter: Russian National Sentenced to Prison for $100 Million Cyber Fraud Conspiracy

Arent Fox, 06 November 2020

On October 30, 2020, a Russian national was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a scheme to illicitly obtain and use sensitive personal and financial information online over the course of twelve years, resulting in more than $100 million in estimated losses. In February, the defendant pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

The government alleged that, from 2007 through 2019, the defendant and other cybercriminals used “botnets,” or networks of infected computers, to engage in a large-scale scheme to steal and traffic sensitive information, such as personally identifiable information and online banking credentials. Continue reading “Article: Investigations Newsletter: Russian National Sentenced to Prison for $100 Million Cyber Fraud Conspiracy”

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Article: A sentence for money laundering from a fraudulent scheme with budgetary funds was announced in the Moscow region in Russia

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A sentence for money laundering from a fraudulent scheme with budgetary funds was announced in the Moscow region in Russia

Eurasian Group, 06 November 2020

The Moscow Regional Court announced a verdict in a criminal case against the head of a commercial firm who had been committed crimes under part 4 of article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud) and subparagraph “a” and “b” paragraph 4 of article 174.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (legalization (laundering) of money or other property acquired by a person as a result of himself committed crime).

During the preliminary investigation O. pled guilty to the commission of the incriminated offences and a pre-trial cooperation agreement was concluded with him. Therefore the criminal case was considered in a special trial. Continue reading “Article: A sentence for money laundering from a fraudulent scheme with budgetary funds was announced in the Moscow region in Russia”

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Article: Dirty Money, Criminal Cash: Bank Leaks Allege Vast Scale of Global Fraud

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Dirty Money, Criminal Cash: Bank Leaks Allege Vast Scale of Global Fraud

Henry Ridgwell, 20 September 2020

Leaked documents allege that some of the world’s largest banks have allowed $2 trillion worth of suspicious or fraudulent activity to take place, including money laundering for criminal gangs and terrorists.

The so-called “FinCEN Files” consist of more than 2,000 Suspicious Activity Reports, or SARs, sent by banks to the U.S. Treasury, alerting the authorities to possible criminal activity, from 1999 and 2017. The files were leaked to Buzzfeed and shared with a global network of investigative journalists. Continue reading “Article: Dirty Money, Criminal Cash: Bank Leaks Allege Vast Scale of Global Fraud”

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Article: Russian ‘Bad Debts’ Banks Expand Fraud Suits Against Ex-Top Managers and Ex-Owners

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Russian ‘Bad Debts’ Banks Expand Fraud Suits Against Ex-Top Managers and Ex-Owners

Dispute Resolution, 14 September 2020

Russian state-controlled lenders The Bank of Non-Core Assets (Bad Debts), created on the basis of National Bank Trust PJSC, and the bank FC Otkritie continue expending anti-fraud litigations against their Ex-Top Managers and Ex-Owners.

Recently, the lawsuit was filed in the United States against the former founder of financial group Otkritie Holding, Vadim Belyaev. The statement of claim entered the electronic database of the court in the New York area of ​​Manhattan. Continue reading “Article: Russian ‘Bad Debts’ Banks Expand Fraud Suits Against Ex-Top Managers and Ex-Owners”

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Article: South Dakota man linked to Russian spy sentenced for fraud

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Investigations Newsletter: Russian National Sentenced to Prison for $100 Million Cyber Fraud Conspiracy

Associated Press, 13 August 2020

A former conservative operative who was once romantically linked to a Russian agent was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison in South Dakota.

Paul Erickson pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering as part of fraudulent investment schemes he operated for many years, the Argus Leader reported.

Erickson was not charged in connection to his romantic relationship with Maria Butina, who was deported in October after admitting she sought to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups and promote Russia’s agenda. He came under the scrutiny of federal investigators who were monitoring Butina but her role in his downfall did not come up in court. Continue reading “Article: South Dakota man linked to Russian spy sentenced for fraud”

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Article: Russian scammer tied to Naama Issachar case jailed for 9 years by US court

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Russian scammer tied to Naama Issachar case jailed for 9 years by US court

MATTHEW BARAKAT, 27 June 2020

A Russian computer hacker who facilitated $20 million in credit card fraud and ran a sophisticated clearinghouse for international cybercriminals was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison.

Prosecutors say Aleksey Burkov of St. Petersburg, Russia, filled a unique niche in the world of cybercrime, describing his Direct Connection website as “the most exclusive criminal forum on the web.” Would-be participants had to put up a $5,000 bond and have three existing members vouch for them. Once inside, members could buy and sell stolen credit-card numbers, hacking services and malware, and criminals with different skill sets could join forces to launch schemes. Continue reading “Article: Russian scammer tied to Naama Issachar case jailed for 9 years by US court”

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Article: Russian Cybercriminal Gets 9 Years for Online Fraud Website

Article - Media, Publications

Russian Cybercriminal Gets 9 Years for Online Fraud Website

Associated Press, 27 June 2020

A Russian computer hacker who facilitated $20 million in credit card fraud and ran a sophisticated clearinghouse for international cybercriminals was sentenced Friday to nine years in prison.

Prosecutors say Aleksei Burkov of St. Petersburg, Russia, filled a unique niche in the world of cybercrime, describing his Direct Connection website as “the most exclusive criminal forum on the web.” Would-be participants had to put up a $5,000 bond and have three existing members vouch for them. Once inside, members could buy and sell stolen credit-card numbers, hacking services and malware, and criminals with different skill sets could join forces to launch schemes.

“You’ve made it as a criminal once you get on Direct Connection because you have access to the best criminals in the world,” prosecutor Kellen Dwyer said at Friday’s sentencing hearing. Continue reading “Article: Russian Cybercriminal Gets 9 Years for Online Fraud Website”

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Article: Russian national pleads guilty to being part of $568 million fraud ring

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Russian national pleads guilty to being part of $568 million fraud ring

Sean Lyngaas, 26 June 2020

A 33-year-old Russian man has pleaded guilty to being part of a cybercriminal enterprise that caused more than $568 million in losses through identity theft and stolen payment cards, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. Continue reading “Article: Russian national pleads guilty to being part of $568 million fraud ring”

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