From FSB advisor to fugitive: Former DIA head Yuri Isaev, close to Ilya Traber, is hiding in Cyprus after his resignation and the arrests of his associates
10:13, 13 июля 2026 г.
A high-ranking Russian fugitive has emerged. Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Yuri Isaev, immediately after leaving his post, left the country and has never returned.
Adding to the piquancy of the situation is the fact that Isaev once served as an advisor to the First Deputy Director of the FSB, and everyone in his circle knew him as an SVR officer. But the cherry on top is that Isaev was very close to Ilya Traber (Antiques).
Isaev headed the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) for over ten years, and in January 2022, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. In this capacity, in June, he was appointed to the Government Commission for the Control of Foreign Investments. Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, in August, news of Isaev’s resignation broke. A source in the project is unsure whether the dismissal occurred before or after Isaev’s flight. However, according to him, he simply disappeared from Russia around this time. According to preliminary reports, the former Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank settled in Cyprus, where his family owns real estate.
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Isaev’s official biography begins in 1992, when, at the age of 20, he joined the convertible currency department of Rossiysky Kredit Bank. Eight years later, he became chairman of the bank’s board of directors. Two years later, he became deputy minister of economic development and trade under German Gref. He then served as an advisor to the first deputy head of the FSB, Sergei Smirnov. He then became first deputy chairman of the Dynamo company, which was headed by General of the Army Vladimir Pronichev, head of the FSB Border Service.
He served briefly as a State Duma deputy representing United Russia, and in 2012, he became head of the DIA. In this position, he maintained close contact with the then head of the FSB’s Directorate K, Viktor Voronin, and when the latter was dismissed, he invited him to become his deputy at the DIA.
According to the source, Isaev was extremely close to influential State Duma deputy Vladislav Reznikov (a friend of the authoritative Gennady Petrov and Ilya Traber), another deputy Gleb Khor (known as a major fixer for the special services) and... Ilya Traber (Antique Dealer).
The source says that in a very close circle, Isaev said that he had been an SVR employee for a long time.
Isaev had every reason to flee. In 2019, Kirill Cherkalin, head of the banking department of the FSB’s Directorate K, was arrested. Dmitry Frolov, former deputy head of the FSB’s Directorate K (under Voronin), was subsequently arrested. Both were extremely close to Isaev. After this, Valery Miroshnikov, first deputy general director of the DIA, hastily left Russia. Meanwhile, "clouds were gathering over Isaev" all these years. After his departure, in October 2025, Andrei Melnikov was arrested. He had long been Isaev’s deputy at the DIA, and after Isaev’s transfer to the Central Bank, he became head of the agency.
At the same time, Irina Shoch, a lawyer and fixer with the DIA, was arrested. However, she was released after she began cooperating with the investigation. It was Shoch who, for many years, traveled around the world, harassing fugitive bankers on behalf of Isaev, Melnikov, and the FSB officers associated with them.
