Following the Money Laundering with Martin Sheil - All Roads Lead to Cyprus, UAE, and Dubai
Retired IRS criminal investigator Martin Sheil on the OCCRP investigation revealing how a Cyprus firm helped sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev move funds - but how Cyprus may be old news
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So I read the latest OCCRP investigation - Cyprus Firm Helped Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Move Funds - with great interest, because I have reported on its central figure - Konstantin Malofeev - often.
The OCCRP reports that “Cypriot corporate service provider MeritServus helped Konstantin Malofeev, an oligarch sanctioned for his support of Russian-backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, transfer debt worth tens of millions of dollars even after he was blacklisted, leaked documents show.”
As RadPod Ep66 learned from Dr. Michael MacKay, “Russian-backed separatist rebels” is Russian propaganda words - Malofeev was accused of funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Full stop. Nevertheless, the OCCRP report revealed how through intentional funny business, the sanctioned oligarch was still in charge of a company - Tinello Investments - but with “his name off the books.”
As I reported last year for Byline Times with Sian Norris, Malofeev/Malofeyev - his name is spelled multiple ways - was indicted by the KleptoCapture Task Force for evading sanctions.
In some deep intrigue, Sian and I also reported that a former Fox News and Hannity producer Jack Hanick, who created a Pro-Putin propaganda network for Putin’s favourite sanctioned oligarch - none other than Malofeev, was arrested in London – and the connections between his employer and the global far-right run deep.
It’s worth noting that Hanick worked for the disgraced network before cutting out the middleman and going to work directly for the Russians.
His employer, Malofeev, according to the OCCRP report, “was able to shuffle tens of millions of dollars worth of debt between his shell companies with the help of a Cypriot corporate services provider despite being sanctioned by the European Union and the U.S., leaked documents show.”
It is also worth noting, the Cypriot firm MeritServus, was once part of Deloitte. As Marty and I reported two weeks ago, MeritServus and its managing director were sanctioned by the U.K. for working with Roman Abramovich.
I will include links to all relevant reporting at the end of this post, but let’s get to the meat of this report - retired IRS criminal investigator Martin Sheil’s assessment of the OCCRP investigation and why Cyprus may be old news.
Here is what Marty had to say…
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