Denis Katsyv

Denis Katsyv is an Ukrainian[1] Russian and Israeli[2] businessman based in Moscow and owner of Prevezon Holdings Limited. He was linked in a civil-assets case to money laundering through real estate investments in the United States, in violation of the Magnitsky Act of 2012; the case was settled in 2017 with the United States Justice Department by Prevezon agreeing to pay $5.9 million in fines.

Katsyv has been represented by attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya,[lower-alpha 1] who met with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn R. Simpson who was investigating American-British financier Bill Browder for Katsyv,[4] as well as with Donald Trump Jr. in the summer of 2016, during the U.S. presidential campaign of the latter's father, then-nominee Donald Trump.

Background

Katsyv is the son of Pyotr Dmitriyevich Katsyv (Russian: Кацыв Пётр Дмитриевич), who was the Minister of Transport for the Moscow region from 2000 to 2012, 2012 to 2013 head of the main department for the Moscow region under Andrei Vorobyov (Russian: Воробьёв, Андрей Юрьевич), and from October 2014 to February 2019 vice president of Russian Railways (Russian: ОАО "Российские железные дороги" (РЖД)).[5][6][7] He was educated and took advantage of business opportunities as Russia began to privatize.

Early in the 2000s, Denis Katsyv participated in a scheme that, according to Israeli authorities in 2005, was a money laundering scheme involving millions of dollars among three companies, Follet, Hanway and Bastet, and the Israeli Bank Hapoalim.[3] Martash Investments Ltd., which is a British Virgin Islands company owned by Alexander Litvak (Russian: Александр Литвак) and Denis Katsyv and has bank accounts at UBS Bank in Switzerland and at Bank Hapoalim branch 535 in Israel, was a defendant in a money laundering case that paid 35 million Shekels to have the matter resolved.[3][8][9][lower-alpha 2]

On August 12, 2012, Novaya Gazeta, Barron's, and the International Center for the Study of Corruption and Organized Crime (OCCRP) published articles detailing that Denis Katsyv had become the sole shareholder of Cyprus-based Prevezon Holdings Ltd. shortly after it received mysterious cash payments to its Swiss UBS bank accounts over two weeks in February 2008 from the two Moldovan companies Bunicon Impex and Elenast using the Alfa Bank hosted correspondent account for the Russian Bank Krainiy Sever.[8][11][12][lower-alpha 3] Over $52 million was moved through Bunicon-Impex SRL and Elenast-Com SRL bank accounts throughout the 2008 winter with over $850,000 transferred to Prevezon Holdings' Swiss accounts on 8 and 13 February 2008.[8] At that time, Katsyv's business partner Litvak was an owner of the Prevezon Cyprus properties in New York and had interests with Prevezon Berlin GmbH in Germany.[8] During 2008, Prevezon and its business partner Africa Israel Investments (AFI), owned by Lev Leviev conducted several joint ventures in the United States and Europe.[13][14][15][16] Some of the financing for Prevezon and its partner came from Deutsche Bank.[17] In 2013, Bill Browder insisted that Prevezon had received over $1.9 million through his stolen Hermitage Capital Management companies to purchase New York properties.[18] During 2013, Preet Bharara, prosecuting attorney for the Southern District of New York, seized four luxury apartments, two commercial properties and froze the assets of eleven firms including Prevezon Ltd. under the Magnitsky Act[lower-alpha 4] after the Magnitsky list was published in April 2013.[20][21]

In May 2017, Prezevon, respresented by Louis Freeh, settled a case brought by the U.S Department of Justice for $5.9 million in fines.[1][22][23][lower-alpha 5] It was related to Russian tax fraud and money laundering originally uncovered by the late Russian lawyer and auditor Sergei Magnitsky. Katsyv was represented by attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya[27][28] and the law firm BakerHostetler in cooperation with research firm Fusion GPS, which was concurrently assembling opposition research against candidate Trump.[4] In November 2017, Katsyv's company Prevezon stated that it would pay the fine using money from AFI Europe which is a subsidiary of Lev Leviev's Africa Israel Investments.[23]

He provided financial support to the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative, a lobbying agent against the Magnitsky Act that was co-founded by Nataliya Veselnitskaya in February 2015 in Delaware.[29][30][31] Denis Katsyv was specifically named in testimony[19] by American-British financier Bill Browder to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee of the 115th Congress on July 27, 2017 in regards to the Magnitsky Act.

See also

Notes
  1. Nataliya Vesilnitskaya became an attorney in 2009. In 2012, Nataliya Vesilnitskaya's then husband Alexander Mitusov (Russian: Александр Митусов) was a deputy prosecutor for the Moscow Region and later became an assistant to Petr Katsyv while Petr Katsyv headed the main department for the Moscow Region.[3]
  2. During 2004-5, employees, managers, and customers of the Bank Hapoalim branch 535 were investigated by Yoav Lehman of the Supervisor of Banks in the Bank of Israel, the Israel Anti Money Laundering Authority, and Brigadier General Amichai Shai of the National Serious and International Crimes Unit of the Investigations Division.[10]
  3. During the scheme, the Krainiy Sever account with Alfa Bank served as a currency convertor to transition from the Russian accounts to the overseas accounts.[8]
  4. On December 12, 2012, the Magnitsky Act became United States law.[19]
  5. Prevezon's attorney Louis Freeh was Director of the FBI from September 1, 1993 until June 25, 2001.[1][23][24] In May 2018, Freeh purchased a $9.38 million home from Armen A. Manoogian in Palm Beach, Florida, near Mar-a-Lago where Freeh often attends events.[25][26]

References
  1. Unger 2018, p. 218.
  2. Shalev, Chemi (May 26, 2018). "The Countless Israeli Connections to Mueller's Probe of Trump and Russia". Haaretz. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  3. Еленина, Лариса (Yelenina, Larisa) (August 13, 2018). "Кацывские "дети лейтенанта Шмидта"" [Katsyvsky "children of lieutenant Schmidt"]. The Moscow Post (in Russian). Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  4. Flegenheimer, Matt (January 8, 2018). "Fusion GPS Founder Hauled From the Shadows for the Russia Election Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  5. "Following the Magnitsky money". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). August 12, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  6. "Кацыв Петр" [Katsyv Pyotr]. rucompromat.com (in Russian). Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  7. Орлянский, Руслан (Orlyansky, Ruslan) (April 15, 2019). "Петр Кацыв "заплатит" за Подмосковье?" [Pyotr Katsyv will "pay" for the suburbs?]. The Moscow Post (in Russian). Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  8. OCCRP (May 26, 2013). "The Wall Street Connection". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  9. Hagler, Edna Kaplan (Judge) (June 27, 2005). "State of Israel vs. Martash Investment Holding Ltd" (PDF). District Court of Tel Aviv-Jaffa. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  10. "Investigation of Money Laundering in Bank Hapoalim Branch 535 and The Bank Hapoalim Trust Company". Port2Port. March 7, 2005. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  11. Анин, Роман (Anin, Roman) (August 12, 2012). "Бенефициары: Журналисты всего мира объединились в поисках денег, похищенных из российского бюджета в рамках "дела Магнитского". И часть мы уже нашли" [Beneficiaries: Journalists from around the world came together in search of money stolen from the Russian budget as part of the Magnitsky case. And part we already found]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  12. "Tracking the Money image". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP). August 22, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  13. Sheil, Martin J. (February 1, 2018). "Deutsche Bank: A Global Bank for Oligarchs — American & Russian, Part 3: Jared Kushner and the 'King of Diamonds'". Who.What.Why. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  14. Green, David B. (July 25, 2017). "Who Is Lev Leviev, the Israeli Billionaire With Ties to Jared Kushner and Putin: Leviev is best known for having cracked the world diamond market monopoly of the De Beers cartel in the 1980s, and for real estate holdings and construction deals from Wall Street to the West Bank". Haaretz. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  15. Dent, Wendy; Pilkington, Ed; Walker, Shaun (July 24, 2017). "Jared Kushner sealed real estate deal with oligarch's firm cited in money-laundering case". The Guardian. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  16. "Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements". Africa Israel Investments. December 31, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  17. Protess, Ben; Silver-Greenberg, Jessica; Drucker, Jesse (July 19, 2017). "Big German Bank, Key to Trump's Finances, Faces New Scrutiny". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  18. Komisar, Lucy (October 20, 2017). "The Man Behind the Magnitsky Act: Did Bill Browder's Tax Troubles in Russia Color Push for Sanctions?". 100 Reporters. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  19. Gray, Rosie (July 25, 2017). "Bill Browder's Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  20. "Желающим выйти из "списка Магнитского": просьба с деньгами не беспокоить: В России сформировался рынок "решал", которые уверяют, что могут договориться с Госдепом США" [Those wishing to leave the "Magnitsky list": please do not disturb with money. In Russia, the market "formed", which assure that they can agree with the US State Department]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). April 7, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  21. "Скандал с имуществом российских бизнесменов в США. Предприниматель Денис Кацыв заявил "Новой", что его компании продолжают работу в штатном режиме" [Scandal with property of Russian businessmen in the USA. Entrepreneur Denis Katsyv told Novaya Gazeta that his companies continue to operate normally]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). September 10, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  22. U.S. Attorney's Office: Southern District of New York (May 12, 2017). "Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $5.9 Million Settlement Of Civil Money Laundering And Forfeiture Claims Against Real Estate Corporations Alleged To Have Laundered Proceeds Of Russian Tax Fraud. Defendant Prevezon Holdings Ltd. Agrees to Pay $5,896,333.65, Triple the Fraud Proceeds Alleged to Be Directly Traceable to the Defendants". Department of Justice. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  23. Bertrand, Natasha (November 16, 2017). "Former FBI director represented Russian firm at center of major money-laundering probe". Business Insider. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  24. "Louis J. Freeh, September 1, 1993 - June 25, 2001". FBI website. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  25. Unger 2018, p. 219.
  26. Hofheinz, Darrell (March 30, 2018). "Deed: Ex-FBI head Louis Freeh linked to $9.38M home purchase". Palm Beach Daily News. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  27. House, Billy (July 12, 2017). "Democrats Ask DOJ About Settlement Involving Trump-Linked Lawyer". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  28. Department of Justice (May 12, 2017). "Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $5.9 Million Settlement Of Civil Money Laundering And Forfeiture Claims Against Real Estate Corporations Alleged To Have Laundered Proceeds Of Russian Tax Fraud". United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  29. Sullivan, Eileen; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Goldman, Adam; Becker, Jo (July 14, 2017). "Russian-American Lobbyist Attended Meeting Organized by Trump's Son". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  30. Weiss, Michael (May 4, 2017). "The Russian Attorney at the Center of the Trump Jr. Scandal". CNN. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  31. "Наталья Весельницкая: Последние новости" [Natalia Veselnitskaya: Latest News]. The Moscow Post (in Russian). Retrieved January 21, 2020.
  • Unger, Craig (August 14, 2018). House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia. Dutton. ISBN 978-1524743505.
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