Operation “Transfer”: The Bagdasarjans and the offshore arrangements of Usherovich and Krapivin

The documents reveal how seemingly ordinary holding structures formed two interconnected offshore networks through which more than €44 million was transferred.

The Cypriot Offshore Cluster “1520”

Seven Cypriot companies. Different incorporation dates, different nominee directors, foreign shareholders. On the surface, an ordinary collection of holding companies. But when 64 corporate registry and accounting documents are examined together, a very different picture emerges.

These are two interconnected networks. More than €44 million in dividends and assets passed through them. Tens of millions more moved within the group in the form of “common-control loans.”

At the centre of the structure is Boris Usherovich. Surrounding him is an entire system of nominee directors, company secretaries, Belizean and Panamanian companies, auditors and banks.

The First Network: Moving Russian Assets OffshoreBONFORD, Artenberg and Dunire operated approximately between 2007 and 2017. This was a classic Cypriot offshore arrangement of that period, involving nominee company secretaries, Belizean shareholders, and Russian subsidiaries operating in real estate and construction.

The following foreign entities repeatedly appear in the documents as related structures:

Belizean companies Horizon Properties, Escala Holdings, Lionella Corporate Ltd and ZALA International Investments;

The corporate services were provided by the Cypriot agent DELFI Corporate Services (HE 241283). According to the documents, the same agent also worked with entities linked to Alexey Krapivin.

Among the nominee representatives regularly appearing during this period are Svetlana Tutunaru and Marina Lazaridou.

The clearest and most illustrative episode concerns a BONFORD transaction.

The Greystone shopping centre in Moscow, located on Bakhurshina Street, was sold for $22.5 million. The profit amounted to approximately €14.28 million.

And just around 30 days later, a dividend of €14.425 million was transferred to the Panamanian company Randinger Inc.

Two months before the sale, the shareholder had changed: Horizon Properties was replaced by Randinger. There was virtually no gap between the disposal of the asset and the transfer of the proceeds offshore.

The Second Network: Telecommunications, Dividends and SanctionsStarting in 2020, another group began operating: Broxner, Main Victory and Venisat.

The underlying logic was different. These companies were involved in telecommunications equipment trading worth tens of millions of dollars, profit transfers and, according to the documents, transactions conducted amid sanctions restrictions.

The documents identify Alexander Weinstein as the beneficial owner of Broxner and Venisat. He held a 99.965% stake in Broxner. Publicly available information links him to Ilya Plotitsa.

The three companies shared the same nominee director, Kirill Ponomarev. Their company secretary was Eryktina Bichinashvili.

On 22 February 2022, Ponomarev simultaneously resigned from Broxner, Main Victory and Venisat.

Around the same time, ZALA International changed its jurisdiction from Belize to the Marshall Islands, while sanctions-related disclaimers began appearing in the companies’ financial statements.

Such a simultaneous change across several entities appears to indicate a coordinated restructuring.

The main banks through which the financial flows of this network passed were:

The Bridge: Feltburg Direct and Usherovich’s Direct OwnershipFeltburg Direct Ltd stands between the two networks. This company is what brings the entire structure together.

Since 2 March 2017, Boris Usherovich has openly held 100% of Main Victory Corp Ltd. This is a rare case in which the beneficial owner abandoned the nominee arrangement and registered his ownership directly.

During his period of control, he personally received approximately €12 million in dividends.

Feltburg and Main Victory actively exchanged substantial “common-control loans” amounting to €3.1 million and €4.4 million.

In addition, Feltburg holds a 19.6% stake in the Russian company LLC Altair, whose general director is listed as Kirill Usherovich.

The Cypriot structure thus emerges as a direct ownership link to a Russian family asset.

In different years, the same Belizean company, Victory Corporate Services Inc., served as the 100% shareholder of both Feltburg and Main Victory.

An internal document dated 2014, cited in the investigation materials, explicitly names Boris Usherovich, Alexey Krapivin and Markelov.

At various times, Feltburg’s directors included Hadjiconstanti, Sofroniou, Tiptsov, as well as Arsen Meletian, Yulia Kovalevskaya and Arturs Bagdasarjans.

Other Entities Servicing the StructureIn addition to the principal beneficial owners and nominee directors, the same service providers repeatedly appear throughout the documents:

Auditors: initially Baker Tilly Kittos and Deloitte, later replaced by the lesser-known firm L. Nearchou;

Corporate service providers: IPM Management Ltd, M. Korelis & Co. LLC and PROTEY Consulting;

Russian company LLC Expоlux, through which telecommunications supplies were conducted.

The Swiss CBH Bank deserves separate attention. Main Victory’s transactions were conducted through this bank.

Later, the bank itself became associated with the freezing of $155 million in a case involving Krapivin and Broxner.

A Recurring PatternWhen all seven companies are examined together, the same set of practices becomes apparent.

Multilayered offshore chains in which the ultimate beneficial owner often remains undisclosed: Cyprus – Finland – Belize – Panama.

Large interest-free loans circulate within the group, many times exceeding the companies’ own equity.

Following reporting dates, dividends are transferred out of company accounts, effectively draining them.

Venisat’s financial statements record a 95% margin despite the complete absence of cost of sales.

Major auditing firms are eventually replaced by little-known regional firms.

Shareholders change shortly before major transactions.

And in February 2022, several key nominee figures leave their positions simultaneously.

The ScaleThe total documented transfer of dividends and assets across the seven Cypriot entities exceeds €44 million.

These are only the amounts that could be identified through the available corporate registry records and financial statements.

Intercompany loans are a separate category and amount to tens of millions of euros.

The documents show how seemingly ordinary Cypriot companies form two interconnected networks. They are linked by a common beneficial owner, shared nominee shareholders, recurring financial arrangements and one specific date in February 2022.

Supporting document