Valentin Zavadnikov

Former Russian Senator Valentin Zavadnikov’s twin interests — sailing and business — both intersected with the Troika Laundromat. (Read the main story.)

His most significant connection to the network can be found in the tens of millions of dollars he received through Troika companies to build two lavish superyachts, Celestial Hope and Quinta Essentia. He is also the co-owner and captain of a racing yacht team, which was partly funded by the Laundromat company Scottsburg Manor Ltd and by another company that received Laundromat funds, Gateway Overseas Ltd.

Through their Ukio Bankas accounts, Scottsburg and Gateway redirected almost US$22 million from multiple core Laundromat companies to train the sailing teams as well as pay for uniforms, competition entry fees, and even media coverage.

Zavadnikov, who served as a Russian senator from 2001 to 2012, didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.

In addition to his political career, the former senator spent three years as deputy chairman of the board of directors at Unified Energy System of Russia (RAO-UES), once one of Russia’s largest companies.

He was also a shareholder and board member of the investment bank Troika Dialog, the business that set up the Laundromat and shuffled billions of dollars through offshore companies.

Zavadnikov co-founded and served as vice president of Ruben Vardanyan’s Moscow School of Management Skolkovo, a business school they hoped would rival Harvard.There, Zavadnikov said he advised Andrei Rappaport, another of the business-school co-founders and a key Laundromat beneficiary.

Zavadnikov’s private businesses, Synergy and Eco-System, both funneled money through the Laundromat as well. (Synergy — now rebranded as Beluga Group — is Russia’s largest liquor producer and distributor. Eco-System is a waste management company founded by Zavadnikov and his three other former RAO colleagues.)