The ties of the Russian Oligarchs

Residences, villas, yachts. A number of Western governments are targeting the assets of Russian oligarchs for sanction. And while the invasion of Ukraine continues and the war shows no sign of stopping, with both Russian and Ukrainian forces continuing to fight for control of cities and key points, the freezing of the oligarchs' boats and accounts in several countries is continuing. Meanwhile, the mansion in Biarritz that reportedly belongs to the husband of Putin's daughter has been occupied by activists, as well as the London villa of billionaire Oleg Deripaska.

Since the Russian onslaught kicked off on February 24, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union have expanded the list of Russian billionaires subject to sanctions. While admittedly, as mentioned in this NBC News article, it's certainly not simple to get a fair estimate of the amount of wealth of the Russian ruling class. But there is more to it than that: the drive to unmask covert assets has sought to shed light in the darkest corners of finance and politics, including money from Russia's wealthy tycoons that is used to fund Western politics or institutions.

The Muraviev case
Money, money, money. Follow the money and you'll understand the truth (or part of it). And this is how we get to this piece of news: Andrey Muraviev, referred to by the Southern District of New York as a «Russian oligarch,» was charged on Monday with funneling foreign money into U.S. political campaigns. The donations were allegedly illegal. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, «A Russian national tried to influence the 2018 election by conspiring to lavish $1 million of his own foreign funds upon candidates and campaigns. He sought to corrupt our political system to further his business interests.  The Southern District of New York is committed to rooting out foreign endeavors aimed at interfering with our elections.»

But who is Muraviev?
Late last year, a New York jury convicted Lev Parnas, a former aide to Rudy Giuliani, of illegally contributing to his campaign. On Monday, February 14, Andrey Muraviev was charged as a co-conspirator of Parnas. Muraviev, 47, a citizen of Russia, is known to have been the source of political donations and contributions forwarded on his behalf by Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, former associates of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Officials say Muraviev tried to lobby to influence the 2018 U.S. election by plotting to send $1 million to candidates and political campaigns, hoping to then get as a return favor to facilitate his enterprise.

Fruman, Parnas and Kukushkin: political ties
Nevertheless, Andrey Muraviev's name was known long before his indictment was made public. This is because Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman and Andrey Kukushkin had already been criminally indicted previously. Muraviev had often been mentioned during the trial of Parnas and Kukushkin as a source of foreign money. Fruman had pleaded guilty, Parnas and Kukuskin were found guilty last year.

The arrests of Fruman and Parnas had caused a stir in 2019: the two men had worked closely with Rudy Giuliani, who was then an attorney for former President Donald Trump. Parnas is also known to have helped Giuliani investigate Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential election.

Cannabis licenses
The story goes back to the spring of 2018, when Muraviev, Kukushkin, Fruman and Parnas had decided to launch a business focused on acquiring cannabis and marijuana retail licenses in the United States. As part of their plan, Muraviev had agreed to transfer $1 million, via a series of bank accounts, to Fruman and Parnas for political contributions donated prior to the November 2018 elections.

Influencing politics
The intent of the donations was to cozy up to candidates who potentially might be able to help Muraviev Kukushkin, Fruman and Parnas secure cannabis and marijuana licenses. To obscure the fact that Muraviev was in fact the real donor of the money, the funds were wired to a corporate bank account controlled by Fruman's brother. Muraviev's money was used to repay and fund Federal and State political donations in Florida, Nevada and Texas and there were also plans to use it to fund campaigns in New York and New Jersey. Donations were then made in the names of Fruman and Parnas. Muraviev is now believed to be in Russia. Each of the two counts against him carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Beyond political influences. A little more on the investments of Russian oligarchs
An oligarch is a term that refers to very wealthy people who have accumulated money during the post-Soviet era and who often have strong ties to Putin. While the world is currently condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine, you must also be aware that oligarchs in years past have also legally donated millions of dollars to charities, museums and universities.

 The many beneficiaries, as reported by the Washington Post, include entities such as the Guggenheim Museum, as well as MIT, Moma, and the Mayo Clinic. In early March, a petition undersigned by dozens of Ukrainian groups, anti-corruption organizations and activists called on «all Western institutions to stop all forms of cooperation with Kremlin-linked entities and sponsors.»

  In the past, Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's richest men, donated millions to the Kennedy Center and was a major benefactor of the Guggenheim Museum too.

 Dmitry Rybolovlev, meanwhile, has gifted considerable amounts of money to the Mayo Clinic. But of Russian billionaires there are plenty of others. Like Oleg Deripaska, who planned to help build an aluminum plant in Kentucky before suspending his investment

It is impossible to estimate the total wealth as a whole either. The Atlantic Council estimates that there is 1 trillion dollars of Russian origin hidden abroad.

The Guardian says there are also several British citizens with Russian ties or dual nationality who have ties to Boris Johnson, however the Prime Minister has been quite explicit in saying, «We don't collect money from Russian oligarchs.»

Over at Forbes there is an article that speaks about the properties that belong to the sanctioned Russian oligarchs: it would consist of 62 properties held by 13 oligarchs.