On July 1, 2024, "The Insider" published an article titled “Businessmen Usherovich and Plotitsa, linked to the Solntsevskaya organized crime group and the Zakharchenko case, are now assisting Russian Railways in bypassing sanctions.”
The article discusses how businessmen Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa, who are close to the Kremlin, supply sanctioned company Russian Railways with prohibited equipment and finance Putin’s election campaign while residing abroad.
Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa have developed a complex scheme for supplying telecommunications equipment to Russian Railways, Russian state companies, and the military-industrial complex enterprises from Europe to Russia, bypassing sanctions.
The money obtained through illegal supplies and shadow financial operations is directed to supporting Putin’s regime. For example, in February 2024, during Putin’s election campaign, 43.3 million rubles were transferred to the accounts of United Russia, the ruling party in the Russian Federation, from a company controlled by Usherovich and Plotitsa named CRSS. Until recently, this company was officially owned by Ilya Plotitsa, a relative and business partner of Usherovich. He currently controls this company through trusted individuals.
In November of last year, information appeared in several media outlets about how Usherovich and Plotitsa launder hundreds of millions of euros through the placement of bonds of the METTMANN PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED, which they control, using fronts on the Cyprus Stock Exchange with weak financial oversight. Additionally, they developed a scheme to legalize criminal proceeds through real estate investments in Cyprus, Spain, and Montenegro. Through complex manipulations with METTMANN PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED bonds, Usherovich and Plotitsa hid tens of millions of euros in accounts of offshore companies ZVONKO INVEST LTD and ARAW LIMITED, registered in the Marshall Islands.
The funds in these accounts are a communal fund for members of the “1520 group” and their protectors within Russian special services.
These processes are overseen by “the king of public procurement” Boris Usherovich. According to some sources, he currently resides in London, while others claim he lives in Marbella, Spain. Despite being internationally wanted, he continues to supply sanctioned equipment to Russia and fund Putin’s regime.
The schemes for bypassing sanctions and money laundering in Cyprus are managed by Ilya Plotitsa, according to The Insider’s investigation. His brother Boris Plotitsa and brother-in-law Alexander Weinstein assist him in these efforts. For these purposes, they use Cypriot companies Broxner PLC, Venisat Technology, and Main Victory Ltd.
Ilya Plotitsa
According to The Insider, Broxner PLC exported goods to the address of Expolux LLC, which acts as an intermediary between the Cypriot firm and Plotitsa’s CRSS.
It turned out that another “king of public procurement” from the 1520 group array and, like Usherovich, a figure in the high-profile Colonel Zakharchenko case, corrupt businessman Yuriy Obodovskiy, also resides in Cyprus.
Yuriy Obodovskiy was born on August 4, 1970, in Odesa and holds citizenship of Ukraine, Russia, and Cyprus. He is a former CEO and co-owner of the “1520 Group of Companies,” the largest contractor for Russian Railways, and a former board member of AB “Interprogressbank” and UK “Bamstroymechanization.”
Ilya Plotitsa was co-owner of the company “Bamstroymechanization,” a contractor for Russian Railways, which is part of the 1520 group, when Obodovskiy was a co-owner of G K“1520” and board member at Bamstroymechanization.
In November of last year, Cyprus authorities revoked “golden passports” of 77 foreigners granted under an investment program. Among them was Russian billionaire and owner of the Cyprus football club “Paphos,” Sergey Lomakin. He was stripped of his citizenship because he concealed criminal charges pending against him in Russia when he applied for Cypriot citizenship. At the time of his application, he had been under criminal investigation in Russia since 2016.
Yuriy Obodovskiy followed a similar path. He also concealed his criminal prosecution in Russia from Cypriot authorities when he filed for citizenship.
Yuriy Obodovskiy
In 2018, Usherovich and Obodovskiy became suspects in the criminal case of police colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko. Known facts indicate that Obodovskiy’s case was initiated in late September 2018. On October 3, the Investigative Committee of Russia issued an in-absentia arrest and search warrant for him. On October 7, Obodovskiy and his wife (a Ukrainian citizen) filed for Cypriot citizenship, which they obtained on June 5, 2019, under the names Yuriy Obodovskiyy and Marina Obodovska.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs officials responsible for verifying the documents of candidates for Cypriot citizenship were obligated and capable of checking Obodovskiy’s criminal records. Yet, for some unknown reasons, they did not or willfully ignored this fact. The mass infractions by Cyprus governmental bodies recorded during the issuance of “golden passports” under the investment program invites suspicion that the officials of the island’s Ministry of Internal Affairs deliberately overlooked Obodovskiy’s criminal prosecution in Russia, either being incented not to notice this fact or properly briefed by upper management.
The dubious passport saga of Obodovskiy came to light following an Al Jazeera investigation into acquiring Cypriot investment citizenship by people with criminal backgrounds.
Obodovskiy dismissed Al Jazeera’s publication as inaccurate and demanded its removal. To back his demands, he presented a certificate issued by the Zonal Information Centre of the Main Directorate of the Russian Interior Ministry for Moscow, number 099 3 No 700267, dated May 16, 2023, stating:
“There is no record of convictions in the Russian Federation territory.
No data on criminal prosecution or its termination in the Russian Federation territory exists.”
The certificate was given to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus. The editorial office has a copy of this certificate.
As mentioned above, the certificate was issued on May 16, 2023. It is quite possible that the criminal case against Obodovskiy was closed for some reason by that time. However, knowing the level of corruption in Russia, one cannot rule out the possibility that the certificate is fake.
Even if this certificate is genuine and contains accurate data, it does not negate the fact that Obodovskiy had an active criminal case against him in Russia at the time of his application for Cypriot citizenship, rendering the acquisition of his Cypriot citizenship illegitimate.
After the publication of Al Jazeera’s investigation, the Republic of Cyprus government canceled the “citizenship for investment” program and began the process of annulling passports for several investors. However, for some inexplicable reason, Cypriot authorities have not yet taken any action to revoke Obodovskiy’s citizenship.
Currently, Obodovskiy resides in Limassol and owns property at Vasileos Georgiou I, 62. He is frequently seen with Plotitsa in city restaurants alongside their business partner and trusted agent Charalambos Patsias, who provides them specific services. According to media reports, Patsias co-owns several Cypriot companies with Plotitsa.
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