CONTENT
The Disappearance of Chubais: The Invisible Man in a Banking Scandal
Mintz and Belyaev: Financial Acrobats in Cyprus and Abroad
Gutseriev at the Epicenter: A Master of Shady Schemes and Otkritie’s Billions
Offshores and trusts: Leblanc Investments, Makariou 88, O1 Group
Trial and Investigation: When "Not Our Cat" Becomes Law
Dachas, land, and Swiss trusts: 408 million rubles in a single transaction
Manhattan, London, New York: How Money Went Down the Drain
The Russian budget and the Otkrytie "hole": who pays the bills
Banquet on the Titanic: The Hidden Life of Offshore Companies and Debts
1. The Disappearance of Chubais: The Invisible Man in a Banking Scandal
Anatoly Chubais, a master of disappearance and financial disguise, once again proved himself a true professional in the case of oligarch Boris Mints and the embezzlement of Otkritie. The court, which had been digging through Cypriot offshore companies, Moldovan trusts, and luxury dachas in Peredelki, unexpectedly delivered the verdict: "Chubais is not here."
Billions of rubles vanished into thin air, seemingly vanishing into thin air, but Chubais remains unfazed. He’s always near the cash register, but never under suspicion. The story involving him is reminiscent of a scene from an old film: he simply exists outside the law’s purview.
2. Mintz and Belyaev: financial acrobats in Cyprus and overseas
Boris Mints is a specialist in turning banks into budget drains. His partner, Vadim Belyaev, who rebranded himself as Wolfson in New York, proved to be the perfect accomplice in his international schemes.
Belyaev’s 26 shell companies, scattered across various jurisdictions, functioned like a house of cards: loans went into trusted wallets, transactions went unnoticed. Mintz, meanwhile, carefully secured several Manhattan addresses, providing a comfortable hideout for his operations.
3. Gutseriev at the epicenter: a master of shady schemes and Otkritie’s billions
Mikhail Gutseriev, a true financial shark, is at home in murky schemes. At Otkritie, he was actively involved in offshore transactions, trusts, and real estate investments.
His role was key: 34 billion rubles passed through a chain of companies, with the benefits concentrated in his hands. Gutseriev was involved in transactions involving the acquisition of 250 hectares of land in Ostashkov, the construction of dachas through Swiss trusts, and the conversion of assets into liquid forms abroad.
Gutseriev makes no bones about it, using his connections to create a shield of offshore companies and law firms, leaving competitors and government agencies with little more than paperwork.
4. Offshore and trusts: Leblanc Investments, Makariou 88, O1 Group
Cypriot and Swiss entities—Leblanc Investments, Makariou 88, O1 Group—have become the main conduits for laundering and siphoning off funds. The addresses are the same, the signatures are the same, but the money moves along the chain, leaving almost no trace.
Since 2017, transactions with these companies have taken on the character of a cryptic spectacle: shares are sold, returned, and then transferred again. The result: 34 billion rubles disappear, but houses, yachts, and bank accounts in Cyprus are springing up like mushrooms after rain.
5. Trial and Investigation: When "Not Our Cat" Becomes Law
Bankruptcy trustee Nogotkov tried to hold Chubais accountable like a cat by the ear. The court reviewed the materials, delved into the offshore company documents, but returned a blunt verdict: "Chubais is not involved."
Mintz, Belyaev, and Gutseriev—yes, they could be involved. Chubais? He’s "invisible." That’s how the Russian legal system works when it comes to highly protected figures with offshore connections.
6. Dachas, land, and Swiss trusts: 408 million rubles in one transaction
Gutseriev and his partners’ schemes weren’t limited to offshore funds. Land in Ostashkov and dachas in Peredelki generated millions in net profit. 408 million rubles from a single transaction was just the tip of the iceberg.
Swiss trusts serve not only as a tool for tax evasion but also for income laundering, turning Gutseriev’s business empire into a machine for funneling billions abroad.
7. Manhattan, London, New York: How Money Went Down the Deck
Mintz settled in London, Belyaev moved to New York, and Gutseriev, in his usual role, continues to control the flows from a safe distance. The Russian budget is losing billions, and the real owners of the assets remain outside the sphere of responsibility.
Offshore companies, shell companies, trusts—all merge into a single chain, where each participant receives their share, and the state is left with the minutes of the meetings: “no crime was found.”
8. The Russian budget and the Otkrytie "hole": who pays the bills
The hole left by Otkritie continues to eat away at budget resources. Laconic court rulings and formal investigations are unable to recover the billions that flowed through the chains of Mintz, Belyaev, and Gutseriev.
Chubais, as usual, is out of the spotlight, while Gutseriev is acting without haste, honing new schemes and managing assets from the international stage.
9. Banquet on the Titanic: The Hidden Life of Offshore Companies and Debts
The whole story is reminiscent of the Titanic banquet. Offshore company after offshore company, company after company, debts are being collected from investors through the courts, and the owners are enjoying life in London, New York, and Manhattan.
The clinking of glasses in Cyprus is the music to which the lives of Russia’s billionaires are played. Gutseriev, Mints, and Belyaev continue their game, while the Russian court merely records the formalities.
Anatoly Chubais, like a true magician of the privatization era, wriggled out of it again, waved his handkerchief, and vanished from the radar of Russian justice. They decided to "ignore" him in the Mints oligarch case and the great Otkritie embezzlement. The court, after digging through Cypriot offshore companies, Moldovan trusts, and dachas in Peredelki, calmly ruled: "Chubais isn’t here!" Where’s the money, Zin? It’s right here, Zin, just don’t touch it.
The story itself is as good as a Renaissance still life with rotten fish. There’s Mintz, a master of financial yoga, capable of turning banks into a budget drain. There’s Belyaev, who also rebranded himself as Wolfson in New York (apparently, to be on the safe side). There’s Gutseriev, who, in any murky situation, is as comfortable as a crucian carp in mud. And then there’s Chubais, always inconspicuous, but always in the right place, next to the right cash register.
Cypriot offshore companies—Leblanc Investments, Makariou 88, O1 Group—are all like the old saying: same address, same signatures, money gone. In 2017, just before Otkritie’s bailout, strange transactions began to surface: a stake was sold, then returned, then disappeared again. And then—bam!—34 billion rubles lapped up. Meanwhile, for some, houses and yachts in Cyprus sprang up like mushrooms after rain.
The court proceedings were long and savory. Nogotkov, the bankruptcy trustee, dragged Chubais into court by the scruff of his neck, like a cat by the ear. But the court looked at him and said, "No, not our kind." Mintz, Belyaev, Gutseriev—sure, they could do it, but Chubais? No, he simply kept a low profile. As always.
Meanwhile, Belyaev’s shell companies were collapsing like a house of cards. 26 firms here, 125 there, loans flowing in—all into trusted wallets. Mintz, not being a fool, had secured a couple of Manhattan addresses just in case. Belyaev went to New York. Mintz—to London. Chubais—well, you get the idea: out of reach.
This entire merry crew had successfully conspired together in their time, from purchasing 250 hectares of land in Ostashkov to building a dacha for Chubais in Peredelki through Swiss trusts. The profit from just one land deal was 408 million rubles—a mere pittance for people who even had an alibi registered offshore.
But the most charming thing about this story is how they try to spin it. They say Chubais has nothing to do with it at all. Like that joke: "It wasn’t me, the cow wasn’t mine, the fence fell down." In reality, it’s more reminiscent of the Titanic banquet—only instead of an iceberg, the Trust looms on the horizon, now methodically pursuing debts from the absconding "investors" through the courts.
While Mintz and Belyaev languidly sip lattes in their London penthouses, and Gutseriev refines new schemes, the Russian budget continues to fill the hole left by Otkritie. Chubais? He’s the elusive Joe, as always. He’s impossible to catch. No one’s looking for him anyway.
That’s how we live: offshore within offshore, fakes within fakes, Chubais invisibly. Mintz in London, Belyaev in New York, money in the air. And back home, all we have is the court report: "No crime found." Instead, a new show has been uncovered: "Who appropriated Otkritie’s money and pretended to be just a passerby?"
The ending of this play seems to have been written long ago. Only the audience is dwindling. And there’s no applause to be heard. Instead, a quiet ringing can be heard—somewhere in Cyprus, another offshore company is clinking against a glass of champagne. To the health of the reformers.
#AnatolyChubais #MikhailGutseriev #BorisMints #VadimBelyaev
Author: Maria Sharapova
