The Troika Laundromat

Credit: OCCRP Published: March 4, 2019

Laundromats are complex systems for moving money that allow corrupt politicians, organized crime figures, and wealthy business people to secretly invest their ill-gotten millions, launder money, evade taxes, and fulfill other goals.

OCCRP has previously exposed three such schemes: The Proxy Platform, the Russian Laundromat, and the Azerbaijani Laundromat.

Now, OCCRP and its reporting partners reveal a unique new Laundromat, created by a prestigious financial institution. This time, the work shows not only its beneficiaries but also exposes its mastermind and operator — Troika Dialog, once Russia’s largest private investment bank.

The scheme was discovered in a large set of banking transactions and other documents obtained by OCCRP and the Lithuanian news site 15min.lt. The data, which was compiled from multiple sources, represents one of the largest releases of banking information ever, involving some 1.3 million leaked transactions from 238,000 companies.

The main purpose of the system we’ve named the Troika Laundromat was to channel billions of dollars out of Russia. But it was much more than a money laundering system: The Laundromat allowed Russian oligarchs and politicians to secretly acquire shares in state-owned companies, to buy real estate both in Russia and abroad, to purchase luxury yachts, to hire music superstars for private parties, to pay medical bills, and much more.

To protect themselves, the wealthy people behind this system used the identities of poor people as unwitting signatories in the secretive offshore companies that ran the system.

Read on below for the details.

THE BIG PICTURE

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Unreal Estate

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The Troika Laundromat’s Friendly EU Banker

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15 May 2019 Read the article

INTERACTIVE INFOGRAPHIC

OTHER STORIES

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Montenegrin Tycoon’s Lawsuit Against Media Highlights a Trail of Controversial Deals

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11 June 2021 Read the article

Bank Records Link President of Cyprus to ‘Troika Laundromat’

A law firm Nicos Anastasiades founded — and left just before assuming the presidency — moved millions of dollars among shell companies that were deeply entwined with the secretive global money transfer system.

14 August 2019 Read the article

For American Amusement Park, Russian Money Was the Wildest Ride of All

Russian businessmen used a network of shell companies to buy a South Carolina theme park before leaving it bankrupt.

26 July 2019 Read the article

How Russian ‘Blood Money’ Flowed Into Montenegro

Montenegro aspires to join the EU. But banking documents from the Troika Laundromat show that the country is a destination for millions of illicit dollars from Russia — and expose how the money was moved.

3 July 2019 Read the article

Laundromat Money Leads to Spanish Paradise

Celebrities and royals have long flocked to the palm-fringed Spanish village of S’Agaro, about 100 kilometers up the coast from Barcelona. Now it attracts Russian statesmen– and their money.

28 March 2019 Read the article

Money for Nothing: Putin Friend Sergei Roldugin Enriched by Troika Laundromat

A Russian cellist and childhood friend of Vladimir Putin received at least $69 million from Troika Laundromat companies. He earned $11.6 million from cancellation fees for 16 consecutive stock deals.

7 March 2019 Read the article

Death in Vienna

Perhaps one of the most powerful tales of the Troika Laundromat comes from a dead man: a Viennese lawyer who regretted his involvement in the scheme — and whose body turned up in an Austrian forest.

5 March 2019 Read the article

Prince in Wonderland

Among the many items paid through the Troika Laundromat was a lavish party hosted by Ruben Vardanyan — to celebrate the investment bank that created the money laundering system.

4 March 2019 Read the article

The Senator's Superyacht Spending Spree

A wealthy Russian politician funded his maritime passions through a complex network of offshore companies set up by Troika Dialog.

28 March 2019 Read the article

Videos

WHO WAS INVOLVED?

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