MOSCOW, Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Russian Information Centre Monitoring -- Exiled Russian oligarchs are staging a comeback in 2008 to get back their "fair share" of the nation's wealth and control over politics. The report by Russian Information Centre, an independent media monitoring service, due for publication in late February, 2007, demonstrates that despite the seeming lack of funds and influence, the notorious oligarchs of the 90s are regrouping, consolidating their resources and scheming a triumphant return after 2008 presidential elections in Russia.
Highlights of the report, based on analysis of open sources such as Western and Russian media, on and off the record statements by experts, businessmen, law enforcement officials and politicians, demonstrate that the exiled oligarchs, who were de-facto rulers of Russia in the 90s, are preparing a revanche, aggressively trying to revamp their image tarnished by plundering the Russian economy and ties with organized crime, and in some cases -- regain physical access to countries like the US, which denied them visas, vying for support of political forces in the West, soliciting former and active law enforcement and intelligence officials in Great Britain, the U.S., Israel, Italy and Eastern European countries with a dual task of using their expertise and connections to soften official scrutiny of their shadowy business practices and getting help in undermining the current government of Russia.
Among the traits highlighted by the media and experts are: Attempts by the exiled oligarchs to enlist support of Western political elite -- mainly the so called new conservatives, legislators in the US, British Labour Party officials and Israeli "hawks" -- on the pretext of an opportunity to get a more "predictable and user-friendly" Russia in 2008. Building of a financial base in the countries neighboring Russia, such as the Ukraine, Georgia and the former Baltic republics of the USSR, to finance opposition to the Kremlin and establishing clandestine routes to channel funds to Russia. Getting western PR, PSYOP and covert operations experts' help in undermining current Russian government utilizing a wide array of techniques ranging from smear campaigns in the West against the leaders of Russian business in energy, aviation, finance and metal sectors to possible acts of terror in Russia and the West with the use of a dirty bomb/radioactive materials to implicate Kremlin.
The scope of this campaign can be illustrated by the case of Mikhail Chernoy (Michael Cherney) who along with his brother Leo gained almost full control over Russia's aluminum industry in the 90s in what became known as the bloody "aluminum wars." While Leo was in charge of business operations, Mikhail was reported to act as a liaison with organized crime, which provided "protection" from the competitors often leaving numerous human casualties after "business disputes."
Mikhail Chernoy, now living in Israel after the US stripped him of his visa in 1999, appears to be the hub in a tangled web of connections linking the Russian mafia, corrupt politicians, Chechen separatists, Russian opposition and notorious archenemy of the Kremlin -- the exiled oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who found refuge in London.
Chernoy's activity has recently most noticeably spread to the Ukraine, where he controls several companies, the largest being First Ukrainian Development (FUD), which will soon break ground on a $1 billion building project in Kiev. Ukrainian journalists refer to their country's construction business today as "the flush pipe of criminal capital," and indeed, FUD's main office is registered at an offshore location in Cyprus, while its Kiev office is headed by Efim Borodulin, a man with close ties to Berezovsky. Chernoy himself flew to Ukraine three times this year on Berezovsky's personal airplane.
Soon, Chernoy may even be managing the flow of Berezovsky's assets. For years, Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili has handled this responsibility, but lately he has chosen to distance himself from Berezovsky, and experts predict Mikhail Chernoy may soon take his place. Chernoy began his career as an entrepreneur during the Soviet period and by the 1990s, he and his brother Leo were in control of Russia's biggest metal enterprises. Their company, TWG, was a conglomerate of offshores scattered throughout the world. Any theory as to where the Chernoy brothers got their start-up capital is pure speculation, but the press has circulated a version involving a forged remittance slip.
Journalists described a clear division of labor between the two brothers: Lev answered for the economic and financial state of TWG, while Mikhail struck deals with anyone who had influence over the business, from government officials who set quotas on metal exports to organized crime bosses who sought tribute -- a kind of protection arrangement now known in Russia as "roofing." Chernoy's particular talent in managing this sphere led TWG to dominate Russia's metal industry.
European law enforcement has repeatedly suspected Chernoy of money laundering and mafia connections. He was investigated on charges including money laundering and drug-trafficking in the US, Russia, Switzerland, Bulgaria and Israel.
In recent years his efforts to regain right of entry to the US have significantly increased -- Chernoy has been sponsoring the Intelligence Summit, an annual gathering of former and acting US law enforcement and intelligence officials; a former FBI agent, who has been conducting an investigation of Chernoy's illegal activities in the US, is currently on his payroll, and Chernoy is courting members of the US Congress on their trips to Israel.
As his brother Leo stated in a recent interview to the RBC Russian newswire, which sounded more like an appeal to the Russian opposition groups, "the fate of Russia depends on the right, I stress -- right forms of corporate government; I am confident of this and hope to persuade those understanding that the clock is ticking."
The full text of the report will be available to the media by the end of February 2007 along with the comments by Russian and Western experts, government officials, independent reporters along with the oligarchs mentioned.
Russian Information Centre Monitoring is a non-profit nonpartisan research and media monitoring organization. The report on illegal international activities of exiled Russian oligarchs is due to be presented to the media later this month.
Russian Information Centre
