Millions of dollars linked to a top Russian anti-corruption cop in offshore bank accounts may have been stashed on behalf of crooked bankers, the Kommersant newspaper reported Thursday.
Investigators are looking into claims that Dmitry Zakharchenko,
the former deputy head of the Interior Ministry
Committee for Economic Security and Combating Corruption, helped to
transport illegally-gained money out of Russia before it could be
seized by authorities.
The alleged scheme could have been part of a family business which
helped bankers “minimize their losses” before
their licenses were withdrawn by the Central Bank, investigators
believe.
Potential customers may have included NOTA-Bank,
which had its license revoked in November 2015 after almost $400
million disappeared from their books, Kommersant reported. If
the bankers were arrested after stashing their cash abroad, the money
would have remained unclaimed in bank accounts linked to
Zakharchenko.
Police found cash worth more than $120 million in
a raid of Zakharchenko's home last week, seizing money from
the official’s study, car and sister’s apartment.
Members of Zakharchenko’s family, namely his 53-year-old father,
also held a number of offshore accounts with prestigious Western
banks, investigators told the Rosbalt news agency. Each account was
found to hold between 45 million to 47 million euros.
Zakharchenko's official annual income has not exceeded 3 million
rubles ($46,000) in recent years, one investigator told Moscow's
Presnensky district court.
The haul was the largest cash seizure in modern Russian history,
according to Roman Anin, the investigative journalist at Novaya
Gazeta newspaper who reported the story.
The Slon.ru news website also reported that Zakharchenko owned
elite apartments in Moscow worth around 700 million rubles ($10.7
million).
If Zakharchenko’s ownership is proven, the assets would make him
the 173rd richest person in Russia, according to the 2016 Forbes
list.
Zakharchenko has been detained on suspicion of abuse of power, obstruction of justice, and taking bribes. He will remain in custody until Nov. 8.
