Russian president Vladimir Putin along with his long-term friend classical cellist and conductor Sergey Roldugin are being linked in the Panama Papers case –where over 2.6TB of data was leaked – for a $2 billion shuffle behind-the-scene on a clandestine network operated by Putin himself, through banks and offshore companies.
How is a cellist involved in this money laundering? Roldugin was listed as the principal owner of many offshore companies whose have obtained payments worth over tens of millions dollars – some of these companies include Russia’s largest truck maker and a TV advertisement industry.
Roldugin has publicly claimed that he is not a businessman, but how can a non-businessman be involved – and owning – these companies? Well, evidence suggest that he is not the true beneficiary of these riches and Sergey is being “used” as Putin’s front man on this clandestine network – what a friend, isn’t it? –.
On the document that involved the classical musician, about 100 financial deals are described to be related to this network where payment are disguised – the information that was found on the documents states the companies were being swapped back and forth in one day were also backdated.
The result of all this just leads to the same way: money and power, where all the leaked documents come from the Panama-based law firm “Mossack Fonseca” – this firm got some well-known names clients due its reputation of being one of the most discrete firms worldwide, from politicians, celebrities, and even sport stars.
Law Firm under Money Laundering?
Some of the leaked information registered that Mossack Fonseca administrated some of Roldugin’s – and rumored Putin – companies and helped them to administer the network’s holding over the British Virgin Islands and some Pacific offshore nations.
Who might be one of this well-known politician? Yeah, it’s our favorite former KGB spymaster Vladimir Putin, where audio recordings along with witness accounts revealed that even Putin’s closest confidants used pseudonyms for him to do these operations.
U.S. political scientist Karen Dawisha stated that the network could have existed without Putin’s knowledge and support, where he takes what he wants when he wants to because when you’re a president you don’t need no one’s authorization because you’re the law.
Also there some files from Mossack Fonseca that makes clear that Bank Rossiya built this network where the employees worked creating offshore companies and assigning the ownership to Roldugin and others, protecting the transactions through banks all over Russia, Cyprus and – of course – Switzerland.
Source: The International Consortium of Investigate Journalists