SANCTIONED hit Russian oligarchs are transferring assets to the West to avoid sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
Ever since the Russian invasion, Western countries have frozen over $1 trillion in Western assets and slapped sanctions against hundreds of Kremlin-linked oligarchs, militarists and legal bodies, but some think they can evade the cost of going to war and killing innocent women and children.
Sources have told Politicalite that sanction running Oligarchs are now finding a way around the Western response to Putin’s War in Ukraine.
“Moscow moguls used to register their firms in overseas offshore jurisdictions to avoid homeland taxation for decades, they’ve gained great experience in distracting potential pathfinders.” a source with knowledge of the matter revealed to Politicalite last night.
“The number of their instruments is extraordinary, with top Western financial consultants to advice.”
Oligarchs have established shell companies with linked bank accounts that have one purpose, money laundering.
“They are using the bank accounts to wire money to another shell company in another hemisphere, with dozens of links in the entire chain.” the source said.
This backdoor enables Pro-Putin Oligarchs to lease luxurious yachts Côte d’Azur and mansions with an offshore identity and zero juridical ties.
Super-rich Russians are also able to transfer major Russian corporations to another person who acts as a servitor.
“This is the same kind of false-flag ops that Russia used in its aggression against Georgia, Syria.”
One notable example of the Asset hiding smokescreen is allegedly the Russian tobacco mogul Igor Kesaev.
“Besides cigarette business, he owns 49,88% shares of ZiD. This open joint-stock company is a notorious producer of anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns and rocket systems.” said the source.
“Mr Kesaev has an influence on Imperial Tobacco Volga and Imperial Tobacco Prodazha I Marketing.”
“These two Russian limited companies, with almost $1 billion outcome in 2021, were the local branches of Imperial Brands PLC, the British tobacco conglomerate.”
Despite Mr Kesaev facing restrictive UK sanctions in April, Bristol-based Imperial Brands has sold its Russian units to this restricted Russian oligarch.
Questions have now been raised about how such a deal with a sanctioned individual could even be possible.
“GHOST OWNING”
On April 27, the same two Russian tobacco firms were shifted to four Russian nationals, Interfax, a major Russian news agency, reports.
“At least two of the four new owners of Mr Kesaev’s firms at the same time hold the top positions at his other companies.”
“Sergey Bronetsky and Konstantin Kobzev, who respectively own 28% and 30% of the transferred tobacco assets, are working as the members of Board Directors of ZiD, Mr Kesaev’s weaponry manufacturer.”
The scheme is more complicated for British firms with branches in Russia.
One tobacco distributor with branches in Russia was sanctioned by the British Government, yet the firm is still able to profit and maintain business revenues despite the War in Ukraine and make a fortune in the process.
“With these primitive tricks, sanctioned moguls are able to avoid Western regulations.”
The United States, Britain and the European Union are working on even more sanctions, but Kesaev is not among those sanctioned in America which is raising questions.
The question we’re asking is whether the tough new sanctions will close loopholes in ghost ownership and stop the illegal activity by Russian Oligarchs.
“Will the inevitable new iteration patch all grey holes for the paralegal activity of pro-Kremlin oligarchs? the answer is not as obvious as it should be.”
