Greetings from Sarajevo, 

Boris Rotenberg, a childhood friend of Vladimir Putin, controls an oil and gas conglomerate that became one of the largest in Russia, mainly from government contracts. Yevgeny Prigozhin, a caterer with a criminal record, now heads a globally active mercenary organization that conducts operations on behalf of the Kremlin. Sergei Roldugin, a cellist considered one of Putin’s best friends, amassed millions from state loans and stock manipulation, and Putin-friendly oligarchs.

These are just three of a long list of elite Russians who’ve acquired untold wealth thanks to their closeness to Putin and his regime.

Quantifying these fortunes is difficult even for experienced investigators. That’s in part because the ultra wealthy are masters in the dark art of hiding assets. Using secretive jurisdictions, proxies, holding companies, and family members, these Putin enablers have been able to obscure their ownership of everything from yachts to mansions and private jets. 

Authorities around the world have begun to seize many of these assets. But there are many more — and that’s where you can help. 

As you’ve probably seen by now, we launched a project on Monday that we will be working on for months to come: Russian Asset Tracker. 

If you know about an asset tied to an ally of the Kremlin — or one of their friends or family members — please contact OCCRP. Verified submissions will be included in the tracker. 
 

Alright. Let’s get this #RussianAssetTracker newsletter started.

WHAT RUSSIAN ASSET TRACKER UNCOVERED

Some assets in the tracker have already been documented by international media. Some have even been seized by authorities — including this yacht, which OCCRP revealed in 2016 to be tied to Igor Sechin. 

But the tracker has also exposed several Kremlin-tied assets for the first time. Here are a few big finds:

Alisher Usmanov

The Russian-Uzbek billionaire is one of the world’s most famous Putin-connected oligarchs. He has a $600 million superyacht, a Tudor estate, and many other assets to call his own.

But as the world tries to sanction people like him, it turns out that nailing down his ownership is a difficult business.

Pulling from leaked data sets including #SuisseSecrets, #PanamaPapers, and #FinCenFiles, reporters pieced together a partial picture of how Usmanov has obscured his holdings —including by making his sister, a Tashkent gynecologist, one of the major beneficiaries.

Read our big story into Usmanov. 
 

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Roman Abramovich

We reveal that the owner of FC Chelsea has an estate in St. Tropez, on the French Riviera, as well as a $24-million London mansion, a lakeside villa near Salzburg, and a Parisian townhouse worth $17.5 million at purchase in 2009.

Abramovich was also allegedly the sole beneficiary of the Cyprus-registered HF Trust, which was valued between $893 million and $1.3 billion in 2016. He did not respond to a request for comment.

See more of his hidden assets.
 

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Oleg Deripaska 

The owner of a major industrial group secretly owns three residences in Sardinia, an office and villa in Cyprus, and commercial real estate in Luxembourg. Deripaska’s press secretary said “all of the property and assets that he owns were acquired by fair means.”

See more of his hidden assets.

THE OCCRP NETWORK

🇷🇺 IStories: The founder of our Russian partner spoke with VICE about his life in exile, which started last year when Russian authorities labeled him a foreign agent. 

🇺🇦 Slidstvo.Info: Our Ukrainian member center verified the identities of several Russian pilots who belong to a regiment that has bombed the country. Some of them, Slidstvo.Info reveals, have relatives in Ukraine.

🇦🇹 DOSSIER: Our Austrian member center released a new series about challenges and potential corruption in the country’s healthcare system.

🇳🇬 Premium Times: Our Nigerian member center reports on how law enforcement and judicial officials have systematically failed to hold wildlife poachers and traffickers to account. 

OCCRP HAS IMPACT

🇱🇧 Lebanon’s Offshore Governor Charged: A Lebanese judge has charged Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh with illegal enrichment and money laundering during Lebanon’s economic meltdown.

Salame’s overseas financial activity was the focus of two OCCRP investigations.

🇦🇲 Armenia Acts After OCCRP Report: Armenian authorities said they are investigating whether former President Armen Sarkissian purchased a St. Kitts and Nevis passport, a possible violation of the country’s electoral laws, as revealed in this OCCRP investigation. 

MORE CORRUPTION NEWS

New Zealand’s Big Pledge:  New Zealand’s government announced a new transparency bill that includes establishing a public beneficial ownership registry.

Learn why these registers are so important in this FAQ.

Ericsson Addresses ICIJ Report: In response to a bombshell investigation published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists about Ericsson's misconduct in Iraq, the CEO of the Swedish company reportedly told investors that they’d take action against any employee found to have been involved in payments to the Islamic State terror group.

MORE ORGANIZED CRIME NEWS

Art World Disputes Reputation: Several international art dealers signed an open letter pushing back on the idea that the art trade is uniquely guilty of facilitating money laundering, pointing to real estate and other industries as being more susceptible to illicit finance. 

MS-13 Members Convicted: A U.S. jury found four members of MS-13, a gang with roots in California and Central America, guilty of drug distribution, racketeering, and attempted murder.