Photo: AP/Alexander NenenovCyprus plays a key role in helping Putin allies like Petro Aven protect their assets from Western sanctions
In the days following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as Western governments threatened imminent sanctions on President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, a Cypriot professional services firm called Abakus Ltd. transferred $XNUMX million from an account she managed on behalf of powerful Russian billionaire Peter Aven, civil court records show.
A prominent Putin confidante, Aven helped build Alfa Group, Russia's major financial services giant and the country's largest private bank. Despite his enormous wealth, Aven lived a discreet life, spending his time before the war at his estate outside London. Aven rose to prominence after he was named in Mueller's 2019 report on Russian meddling in the US election as someone who offered to be a liaison between Putin and Donald Trump's transition team shortly after the 2016 presidential election.
Aven met regularly with Putin and shortly after the invasion on February 24, 2022. A few days later, his mansion, known as Ingliston House, needed money. According to previously unpublished court documents filed by the National Crime Agency (NCA), Britain's top law enforcement agency for international financial crime, the payment was initiated on February 28, the same day EU sanctions were imposed on Aven.
The money arrived a few days later in an account at another bank controlled by Aven's aide, Stephen Gaither, who manages Aven's large estate in posh Surrey. The transfer was one of dozens allegedly made in Aven's name to accounts owned or controlled by Gaither, as well as to other accounts belonging to Aven's wife.
The payments, the first and largest of which was made by Austrian bank Abakus, based in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia, were split between personal and business accounts registered in the UK just as Aven was being sanctioned after the invasion, according to UK court documents.
In a document filed last year marked "official-confidential", the NCA said many of the transfers were made to Aven's benefit, in breach of UK sanctions laws. Payments made by Gaither from his personal and business accounts included the salaries of Aven's household staff, as well as what the NCA called "large payments" for Aven's personal expenses.
The NCA also alleges that a sanctions-busting payment was made to Gaither's personal account for a Bentley Bentaiga - a luxury SUV that retails for more than $200.000 - previously owned by a company controlled by Aven. Searching two properties, one owned by Aven, the other Gaither, the NCA found nearly $100.000 worth of cash.
The "vast majority" of the money was found on Gaither's property, with a "substantial amount" in vacuum-sealed banknotes in various currencies, the NCA said. The rest of the money was found in the house Aven's Ingliston, the agency added.
Many questions about the money remain unanswered, the NCA said. "Gaither and his representatives have not provided any details about who owns the confiscated money." "Neither party has claimed ownership of any of the seized money at this time and no explanation has been given as to its origin or purpose," the agency said in a court filing.
"This sterling cash is suspected to have been obtained after the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 when sanctions against Aven were a clear possibility, and potentially after Aven was sanctioned in the UK on 15 March 2022 when it should have been clear that access would bank accounts will be further restricted," said the NCA. On November 3, a London judge granted the agency's request to continue confiscating the money for another six months.
All things considered, the NCA and other records show Cyprus' key role in helping Putin allies like Aven shield their assets from Western sanctions. The classified documents also show the role Abacus played in helping manage Aven's fortune, which Forbes estimates at $4,2 billion.
Aven's lawyers have denied all allegations of wrongdoing in court filings. They declined to answer detailed questions from the ICIJ, saying "our client does not consider it appropriate to comment on the issues you raise while they remain the subject of ongoing legal proceedings."
MJ/ICIJ
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