March 23, 2023

The Moscow-City Laundromat


The Moscow-City Laundromat
Moscow-City in February fog  Gennady Grachev, Around Moscow, Wikimedia Commons 

Transparency International Russia, a well-regarded anti-corruption NGO, discovered that several crypto exchanges that are operating in Moscow-City, the main commercial district of Russian capital, are offering services for withdrawing funds from Russia to the UK anonymously. 

Investigators conducted a series of undercover interviews and established that at least eight crypto exchangers are ready to exchange USDT stablecoins for pounds sterling with the opportunity to receive them in cash in London. One of these exchanges, Suex was sanctioned by the US for money laundering back in 2021. 

According to Transparency International Russia (TI), the process of making a transfer is quite simple and is similar for all crypto exchangers. They deposit client funds in a specified crypto wallet, after which the crypto exchange operator assigns the time and date of a courier delivery to the specified address in London.

Not a single crypto exchange requests an identity document from customers. This directly violates the British anti-money-laundering legislation. "This presents a significant money laundering risk and is illustrative of how the financial system is open to exploitation by criminals and corrupt officials looking to launder their ill-gotten gains," investigators note.

This is not the only TI investigation into money laundering in Russia. Previously, TI found a money-laundering scheme being run by Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas giant, and they also published a podcast on money-laundering via real estate. 

Therefore, it is not surprising that Russian authorities have targeted the anti-corruption organization: recently TI, an NGO that has headquarters in Berlin, was recognized as an "undesirable organization" in Russia, and its employees were banned from working in Russia under threat of criminal prosecution. Because of this, TI Russia, the Moscow based NGO, which previously was included in the register of "foreign agents," was forced to shutter its legal entity.

 

You Might Also Like

Russians Getting a Raise?
  • December 08, 2022

Russians Getting a Raise?

In a November 30 speech, President Vladimir Putin said the next big challenge for his government will be raising the economic well-being of Russians.
A Bite from a Billionaire
  • September 10, 2022

A Bite from a Billionaire

For the first time, a Ukrainian court has ruled to confiscate the assets of a Russian billionaire.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955