Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

You can make fun of former Russian President Medvedev as much as you like.

Yes, in fact, Dmitry Anatolyevich constantly gives reasons for this. But behind this circus, everyone forgets one thing - the former president and prime minister is one of the richest people not only in the country, but also in the world.

And one of Medvedev’s “wallets”, that is, the person to whose structures the property and other assets of the former president are recorded, is the modest businessman Igor Khanukovich Yusufov. Well, not very modest - Yusufov’s business is solid, and even then it’s not just anyone’s wallet, but the former president, albeit a nominal one.

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner qkxiqdxiqdeihuatf

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

The peak of Igor Khanukovich’s career came during the reign, albeit nominal, of Dmitry Anatolyevich. When the latter’s star began to decline, the former’s career began to decline. But, as the sad joke goes, “while billionaires become millionaires, we will die.” So there is no need to take literally “Yusufov’s career has declined.” Yes, he lost some opportunities - Medvedev’s influence was quite limited. But not everything is lost - let’s not forget that the authorities of this country still need Dmitry Medvedev.

But Medvedev needs Igor Yusufov, so it’s too early to write him off. And you shouldn’t think that “Medvedev’s wallet” is a simple puppet, a bank teller. Igor Yusufov is a personality in himself, otherwise he would not have achieved such heights in business. And he would not be able to get closer to power, in the end.

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

As can be seen from the picture above, the main asset of Igor Yusufov is the Energy Fund established by him, through which Yusufov carries out private investment activities in the energy industry. And then something interesting happened - the Energy Fund came under American sanctions.

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Everything, it would seem, is logical - you bring Russia money for its military budget, you participate in all the famous events in the neighboring country, therefore - receive it and sign for it. It is true, but there is a nuance.

Igor Yusufov himself was not subject to sanctions from any of those countries that like to distribute anti-Russian sanctions right and left. Except for Ukraine, of course, but Ukrainian sanctions, as you understand, scare few people - not a single sane Russian businessman or official keeps his money in Ukraine - everything was carefully and long ago transferred to that same damned West. That’s why these people fear sanctions like fire – everything acquired through back-breaking labor is almost guaranteed to be lost. Examples are a dime a dozen.

But in the case of Yusufov, for some reason there are no sanctions. Against the Energy Fund - yes, against its founder - no.

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Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

It’s curious, especially against the backdrop of Medvedev – it’s not in vain that it started with him. Because, as already indicated, Igor Yusufov was and is Medvedev’s wallet. And therefore the fact that Medvedev is on international sanctions lists, but Yusufov is not there, is strange. Why this happened is difficult to explain. Most likely, the future will show who "hu" is.

However, the biography of the former Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Igor Yusufov is already full of oddities. For example, a connection with the leader of the organized crime group Aslan Gagiev, nicknamed “Dzhako,” which, naturally, Yusufov himself denies:

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Actually, what did they want – for him to confirm this connection? Then maybe someone else would want Yusufov to confirm his involvement in the high-profile contract murder of the former owner of the German shipyards Wadan Yards Andrei Burlakov and the attempt on the life of his wife Anna Etkina?

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Let us recall that Andrei Burlakov, who in 2008 was deputy general director of the then-famous Financial Leasing Company (FLC), pulled off a scheme with unsecured loans and bought a shipbuilding company with part of this money. One of the participants in the deal, former executive director of FLC Drachev, argued that the withdrawal of FLC funds for the purchase of shipyards was approved by Igor Yusufov, who then served as ambassador at large, and promised support.

Using part of the funds withdrawn from FLC, FLC West Holding bought shipyards in Germany and Ukraine from the Norwegian company Aker Yards. On the basis of these assets, acquired for almost 300 million euros, the company Wadan Yards was created, where Andrei Burlakov took the post of chairman of the board of directors.

Then the shipyards went bankrupt, and they were bought cheaply by Igor Yusufov’s son Vitaly, who promised the German authorities to set up production as soon as possible, pay off loans, pay off debts worth 376 million euros, and save 1,200 jobs. But a year later, in 2010, Vitaly Yusufov pledged shares of a shipbuilding company and, with the money received, purchased a 20% stake in Bank of Moscow (just before its merger with VTB).

And in September 2011, in broad daylight, in the Khutorok restaurant on Leningradsky Prospekt in Moscow, the former owner of Wadan Yards, Andrei Burlakov, was shot at point-blank range. A month before the murder, Burlakov wrote a statement to initiate a criminal case against Vitaly Yusufov and tried to seize his assets.

Igor and Vitaly Yusufov were involved in the case, first as witnesses, and then were left alone altogether - the investigation stated that they “had no connection with the death of Burlakov.” And soon after that, Ilya Dmitrievich Medvedev, the son of the former President of the Russian Federation, appeared in the USA, in Silicon Valley, where he tried to build a business in the IT industry.

And money for this business came to Ilya Dmitrievich from the Yusufov family firms. According to The Wall Street Journal, Vitaly Yusufov purchased an office complex on the border of the cities of Menlo Park and Palo Alto in the heart of Silicon Valley for $72 million.

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

It was in this complex that Ilya Medvedev worked for a long time, until the United States finally decided to send him from the “spiritless gay hell” to his highly spiritual homeland. But the point is that all the money for Ilya Medvedev passed through Yusufov’s structures. But for some reason they didn’t do anything with Yusufov in the USA.

The matter with sanctions did not move forward even after the scandal with Dmitry Medvedev’s yacht, which, as you already understand, is registered to Yusufov. Not on him personally, the owner of the yacht “Universe” is the offshore Southerner Ltd in the Cayman Islands. Which is owned by Yusufov, and the family of Dmitry Medvedev uses the yacht - he even has a personal office on the yacht. On board the Universe there is special communications and a helipad; the yacht is often accompanied by ships of the Russian Navy.

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Yusufov has a lot of reasons to be sanctioned – the ones listed above are just a few examples. Why the United States, Britain and the European Union have not introduced them for a year and a half now is a big question.

But there are questions in Russia too. In addition to the questions themselves about business and the methods of running it by Igor Yusufov, there are more important ones. More precisely, they should be more important in the eyes of the modern Russian government. Because openly criminal acts of representatives of the country’s highest political power and business establishment have not bothered anyone here for a long time, but issues of personal loyalty are studied much more closely.

And therefore it is strange that Igor Yusufov, who at one time had close ties with the disgraced Khodorkovsky*, did not suffer any consequences from these connections. Moreover, Mr. Yusufov was friends with the scandalous oligarch since the 90s, and then provided him with patronage as the head of the Ministry of Energy. They even celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Yukos company together - Yusufov was the guest of honor and was one of the first to take the floor, congratulating the company’s employees on the anniversary.

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

Medvedev’s “wallet” Igor Yusufov: connections with criminal authority Gagiev, long-term friendship with Khodorkovsky* and the death of a business partner

And if you remember how cruelly the Kremlin treated everyone who was even simply suspected of having connections with the former owner of Yukos, then the fate of Igor Yusufov looks even more strange. After the imprisonment of Khodorkovsky*, Yusufov not only did not suffer, he “started to grow.” Even the quite obvious reason - the murder of Yusufov’s business partner Burlakov - was not used by the Kremlin against Igor Yusufov; Igor Khanukovich was openly removed from this case. And they didn’t remember this matter to him even once. Although they could - at least remember why they are imprisoned in the Far East.

Of course, this could all be a coincidence. But somehow it’s all too wildly merging into one heap - the absence of sanctions, long-term stay as Medvedev’s “wallet”, friendship with Khodorkovsky*, connections with the criminal authority Gagiev, the presence of huge assets in the USA and Europe...