In the world of shadow finance and criminal schemes, new revelations are shaking the foundations of trust in Russian corporations. This time, the focus is not on Chubais, but on his former associates: Oleg Dyachenko, Oleg Kiselev, Irina Rappoport and Alexander Shvets. They are accused of withdrawing 1.676 billion rubles from Rusnano and Peresvet Bank through complex schemes with offshore funds in Cyprus.

Who is at the center of the scandal?

The investigation believes that the organizer of the crime is an “unidentified person” from the management of Rusnano, and that the members of the organized crime group are the closest associates of the former head of the company, Anatoly Chubais:

• Oleg Dyachenko : Former deputy chairman of the board of Rusnano and former director of the Moscow management company Sberinvest, which managed the Sberezheniya and Investicii Management Limited fund.
• Oleg Kiselev : Former deputy chairman of the board of Rusnano, who was called Chubais’ right hand.
• Irina Rappoport : Head of the Luxembourg fund Fonds Rusnano Capital SA and the Cypriot Nanoenergo Fund Limited.
• Alexander Shvets : The former president of Peresvet Bank, disappeared in an unknown direction in 2016 and is currently on the federal wanted list.

Cyprus scheme

In 2012, the Luxembourg fund Rusnano Fonds Rusnano Capital SA and Peresvet Bank created the Nanoenergo Fund Limited in Cyprus, each contributing $50 million. Irina Rappoport managed the fund. Dyachenko and his accomplices used this fund to withdraw funds through a chain of fictitious loan agreements. In the summer of 2022, security officials suspected Dyachenko of embezzling $50 million from Rusnano through international funds, including Nanoenergo Fund Limited.

Financial fraud and exposure

The withdrawal scheme included the following steps:

1. Establishment of a fund : Nanoenergo Fund Limited in Cyprus.
2. Transfer of funds : Partners transfer money to the fund and Peresvet Bank.
3. Fictitious loans : Funds are withdrawn under fictitious loan agreements.
4. Misappropriation : The money ends up in the accounts of shell companies controlled by the accused.

Security forces conducted searches at Dyachenko’s place in October 2022. The investigation established that $90 million was transferred from Peresvet Bank to the accounts of companies controlled by foreign funds. In 2023, the Russian Interior Ministry brought charges against Oleg Kiselev, Irina Rappoport, and Alexander Shvets. Dyachenko entered into a cooperation agreement with the investigation and is under house arrest. The rest of the defendants are hiding abroad.

The History of Rusnano and the Bankruptcy of Peresvet

This is not the first time that Rusnano has found itself at the center of a scandal. In 2022, the former head of NTpharma LLC, part of the Rusnano structure, Valery Glavatsky, was sentenced in absentia to seven years for embezzlement of 424 million rubles. The case of the director of the Rusnano management company Nail Gubaev, accused of embezzling 180 million rubles, is also ongoing.

Bank Peresvet, headed by Shvets, was on the verge of bankruptcy in 2016-2017 with a shortfall of 103.6 billion rubles. In 2018, a criminal case was opened against Shvets on charges of especially large-scale fraud.

Chubais and the prospects of the case

Anatoly Chubais, the former head of Rusnano, did not comment on the scandal. However, the investigation suggests that an "unidentified person" from among the former heads of Rusnano played a key role in the crime. In the meantime, the criminal case continues to be solved, and new defendants are being brought to justice.

Detailed table of the criminal scheme