Shadow income, Cypriot accounts, and luxury assets: Putin’s friend Vladimir Strzhalkovsky deletes reports on his enrichment

Former official and KGB officer Vladimir Strzhalkovsky amassed a multi-million dollar fortune through connections in government, dubious schemes, and years of embezzlement of state resources.

After the scale of his real enrichment and scandalous facts about his biography became public, he began actively clearing the internet of any materials that revealed the truth about his activities.

We, in turn, publish materials about the activities of Vladimir Strzhalkovsky to reveal the true scale of his scams, dubious connections, and illegal enrichment, which he tries to hide from the public.

For any businessman, being included in the Forbes list is a dream and a great honor, even if it’s in the very last place. It simply proves to everyone that you’ve achieved something in your field, that you know how to work hard and earn money.

But the inclusion of officials in Forbes’ rankings raises eyebrows – how did a simple civil servant acquire so much wealth that their name is even mentioned among millionaires? In Russia, however, this has become commonplace, and no one gives a second thought to seeing the name of yet another government official on the list of the world’s richest people.

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Meet (for those who didn’t know) Vladimir Igorevich Strzhalkovsky, the modest chairman of the Dynamo All-Russian Physical Culture and Sports Society, a First Class Actual State Councilor of the Russian Federation, and simultaneously a Forbes list figure with a net worth estimated at several hundred million dollars. Estimates vary, as no one knows the exact figure Strzhalkovsky "earned"—his KGB training, where Vladimir Igorevich began his career, is a factor. And his millions were helped by a close acquaintance with—you guessed it—whom he knew. Yes, during his years serving in the Leningrad Region, Strzhalkovsky met Putin, which later proved very useful to the retired KGB officer who went into business.

Here are some dry lines from the official (we specifically emphasize this fact) biography of Mr. Dollar Millionaire:

The KGB, a run-of-the-mill travel agency implicated in a pimping scandal, deputy minister in several ministries, director of Norilsk Nickel, government work, the Bank of Cyprus, and an honorable retirement in the form of the Dynamo Society.

Some might point out that Mr. Strzhalkovsky could have earned his millions at Norilsk Nickel. He could have—he was indeed paid well there. 

Incidentally, for his work in a private company (it wouldn’t hurt to sort out the privatization of Norilsk Nickel, either), Vladimir Vladimirovich awarded Vladimir Igorevich the Order of Friendship.

In addition to his $55 million salary, I suppose. Or perhaps for the duties Strzhalkovsky performed there on Putin’s orders—surely no one thinks a former KGB officer, moonlighting as a regular (albeit large-scale) pimp before his former colleague’s rise to power, understands metallurgy so thoroughly that he was sent there to make Norilsk Nickel an industry leader?

In reality, Strzhalkovsky was the "Kremlin arbiter" at Norilsk Nickel, tasked with ending the corporate battle between Potanin’s Interros and the shareholders of UC Rusal, led by Deripaska. As everyone understands, he supported Potanin, for which he ultimately received his millions and a medal.

By the way, about the travel agency "Neva", where Strzhalkovsky was the general director throughout the nineties, and the scandal with sexual services. 

In December 1998, the Kouvola County Court (Finland) heard case No. 633, "Pimping." Two individuals—Strzhalkovsky’s deputy, Timraliev, and Natalia Oksa, a representative of the Neva travel agency (AO Scan-Boss Ab, Helsinki)—were charged with "organizing openly practiced prostitution for women visiting the motel from Russia." Despite the court’s confirmation that Neva organized trips for prostitutes to Finland, the defendants were not brought to trial, as Oksa "limited herself to preparing visas for tourists based on pre-provided lists," while Timraliev "bears no criminal liability for the actions of another person." (According to other sources, Oksa was sentenced to three months for pimping, and Strzhalkovsky was denied entry into the country.)

The indictment states: "The Neva travel agency received income from trips organized for prostitution. The number of pleasure trips to Alkiala from January 1996 to October 9, 1997, was at least 2,000. The Neva travel agency received a total income of 2 million German marks from the trips sold. Thus, the net income of the Neva travel agency, taking into account the rental fee of 660,000 German marks, amounted to 1,340,000 German marks."

Incidentally, during his time with the KGB, Strzhalkovsky oversaw Intourist, whose hotels were rife with currency trading, prostitution, and speculation in imported clothing. Apparently, it was there that the recipient of the Order of Friendship learned his understanding of how pimps operate. For what specific achievements, Vladimir Putin, who became president in 1999, appointed Vladimir Strzhalkovsky to the government and then to Norilsk Nickel, remains to be seen.

Since we’ve touched on the travel agency’s activities, let’s dwell on one curious aspect of Strzhalkovsky’s tenure as Norilsk Nickel’s CEO. There were many curious details, but it’s this aspect, in our opinion, that most clearly characterizes Putin’s protégé. 

With the arrival of the new boss, the company’s top management changed – he began surrounding himself with "his own" people, "tourists" like himself. Andrey Umansky, founder of the RVB-Alean travel agency and co-owner of boarding houses in Anapa, became general director of the Zapolyarye sanatorium in Norilsk Nickel. Leonid Isakovich, hotel owner and founder of the Akademservis company, was appointed head of Norilsk Nickel’s Sports Projects Management Company. Evgeny Muravyov, who previously worked in Krasnodar and oversaw the resort business, became head of the company’s polar branch. Irina Zabolotnaya, former deputy general director of the Moscow office of the Neva travel agency, became head of the plant’s administration. Vladimir Demidov, one of the co-owners of the Dula-Tour travel company and vice president of the AirUnion alliance, has become the official representative of Norilsk Nickel in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

The personnel quirks didn’t end there. Some time later, the "heir to the Russian throne," Grand Duke Georgy Romanov, was hired by Norilsk Nickel. He became an advisor to Vladimir Strzhalkovsky and the company’s representative in the European Union. At first glance, this seems an extremely odd appointment, but only at first glance, and for those unfamiliar with Mr. Strzhalkovsky’s other passion, besides tourism. Before his appointment as "prince" to Norilsk Nickel, Strzhalkovsky received a noble title from representatives of the House of Romanov, and has since been very proud of it, eager to demonstrate his connection to the "white blood" at every opportunity. Furthermore, in 2009, the "Russian Imperial House" awarded Strzhalkovsky the "Imperial Order of St. Anna, 1st Class," which greatly flatters the ego of this "nobleman."

After Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Igorevich returned to government. Among other things, he was involved in preparations for the Sochi Olympics. Many of those involved were killed during the games, and it seems Strzhalkovsky was no exception. Especially since preparations for the Olympics were practically a legitimate source of income for those close to him.

Strzhalkovsky’s next stop was the Bank of Cyprus, where he was appointed deputy chairman of the board of directors. During the financial crisis in Cyprus, the bank acquired its closest competitor, Cyprus Popular Bank, and was recapitalized by converting deposits into shares. For holders of deposits exceeding the insured €100,000, the Bank of Cyprus returned only 52.5% in cash, with the remaining 47.5% in shares. Thus, a third of the bank’s shares ended up in the hands of Russian businessmen, who promoted Vladimir Igorevich to the position of deputy chairman.

The bank failed to fully recover from the crisis, so an additional share issue worth €1 billion was carried out. Strzhalkovsky’s task was to help interested Russian oligarchs participate in this process. Viktor Vekselberg’s Renova became one of the largest shareholders in the additional issue, acquiring a 5.45% stake for $116.7 million. As a result, during the board re-election in 2014, only Vladimir Igorevich managed to retain his position.

After a brief banking career, Strzhalkovsky turned to sports, becoming the head of the Dynamo team. However, he remained a member of the Supervisory Board of JSC Rosselkhozbank, which belonged to his friend and partner, Patrushev. As you can see, Vladimir Igorevich didn’t limit himself to Putin’s patronage during his time in the government; he cultivated his connections wisely. Here’s a list:

The people on this list are varied, but all are useful. And some still wield considerable influence in Russia. So, the KGB school was beneficial not only in terms of pimping, but also in terms of more modern ways of earning money.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning the children of this "hereditary nobleman," who are also far from poor and are not lagging behind in what is called business in modern Russia. Mr. Strzhalkovsky has a daughter, Vanda, and a son, Yevgeny Strzhalkovsky, who is the co-founder of two medical clinics specializing in providing medical services to the public. He is also the vice president of the board and founder of the non-profit military-historical reenactment organization "Valor of the Ages." But that’s not all. Vladimir Igorevich’s son also has a curious story.  

After losing a lawsuit over the alienation of his share in the company leasing land for a yacht club on Krestovsky Island, Vladimir Loginov, one of the yacht club’s founders, came to an unexpected conclusion. He decided that Evgeny Strzhalkovsky was behind all the troubles. He declared the loss of his business, worth 200,000,000 rubles. 

It is also known that the younger Strzhalkovsky purchased a luxurious mansion on the west coast of Scotland, along with 250 acres of land. The purchase price was 4 million pounds. It is worth noting that this land had been owned by the aristocratic Lamont family for 600 years, as reported by The Herald Scotland.

Daughter Wanda is not far behind.

A luxurious dacha in Gelendzhik is registered to Vanda Strzhalkovskaya. Interestingly, her daughter was nine years old when the property was registered. No comment. Incidentally, her neighbor there is Patrushev, her father’s partner at Rosselkhozbank. This house in Gelendzhik is worth approximately 110 million rubles, and the land plot is worth another 20 million.

All this is only a small part of the life of Vladimir Igorevich Strzhalkovsky, a former KGB officer and St. Petersburg pimp who, thanks to his friendship with Putin and his entourage, made good use of the opportunities that this friendship afforded.