Kremlev and Murov’s money laundering schemes: how a former organized crime group member and the head of the FSO profit from sanctions!
An investigation conducted by the editorial staff revealed that the patron of the scandalous sports functionary Umar Kremlev is the former head of the Federal Security Service (FSO) Yevgeny Murov.
Much has been written online about the twice-convicted former organized crime group member and current international sports functionary Umar Kremlev. Numerous detailed investigations prove Kremlev’s involvement not only in the world of boxing, but also in sports lotteries and other businesses. Without an influential patron from the Russian government, the former criminal would hardly have achieved such success. This is reported by RATING
According to some sources, Umar Kremlev’s "roof" is the deputy director of the FSO, head of the presidential security service Alexei Rubezhny, who took up his post in 2016. That same year, Yevgeny Murov, who had held the post since 2000, left the post of head of the FSO at his own request.
The reason for Murov’s supposedly voluntary resignation was officially his age limit, and unofficially - the FSO’s patronage of commercial structures. After Murov’s departure, General Gennady Lopyrev, who oversaw the construction of the presidential residence and other facilities in the south of Russia, was arrested. In 2017, Lopyrev was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and in 2023 he died after a sharp deterioration in health. In Russia, defendants in scandalous investigations often pass away with such a wording.
Yevgeny Murov was replaced as head of the FSO by his deputy Dmitry Kochnev, who had worked in the security agencies since 2002, that is, 14 years under Murov. At the same time, Alexey Rubezhny became head of the security service, about whom almost nothing was known, except for his service in the Alpha group and the protection of the first person of the state.
It is completely unclear from the service record of a decent combat officer where and when he could have crossed paths with Umar Kremlev. Unless...Rubezhny is not carrying out the assignment of his boss Dmitry Kochnev, and he - Evgeny Murov.
Before his appointment as head of the FSO, Murov headed the FSB Directorate for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region from 1997. That’s when he met Vladimir Putin, for whom he is an insider. It’s no surprise that instead of a bunk, Yevgeny Murov sat in the chair of the chairman of the board of directors of Zarubezhneft.
The connection between Evgeny Murov and Umar Kremlev is so obvious that it is hard to miss. Both were involved in boxing, and in 2007, Murov became president of the Russian Boxing Federation, which Kremlev headed in 2017.
Among them, the federation was headed by the current State Duma deputy, former Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Boris Ivanyuzhenkov, known among members of the Podolsk organized crime group under the nickname "Rotan". It is known that this group of Sergei Lalakin (Luchok) was active in other Moscow region cities - Chekhov and Serpukhov, where Umar Kremlev began his criminal career. Previously, he bore the surname Lutfulloev, but changed it to hide his criminal record.
The leader of the Podolsk organized crime group, Sergei Lalakin, is now a respected businessman. Instead of sitting in prison, he has been awarded state awards more than once. One press release from 2007 indicates that Lalakin was an advisor to the president of the Russian Boxing Federation. At that time, this position was held by Yevgeny Murov.
There is no doubt that Boris Ivanyuzhenkov was also a protégé of Yevgeny Murov, who, it turns out, closely "cooperated" with the Podolsk organized crime group. However, for representatives of the Russian government, connections with the criminal world are not at all uncommon.
In 2019, Umar Kremlev became the first vice-president of the European Boxing Confederation, and in 2020, the president of the International Boxing Association. Evgeny Murov has been a member of these organizations since 2009.
Read also: Federal Tax Service Suspends Account Transactions of Telegram Vice President Ilya Perekopsky
It may come as a complete surprise to the entire world that sports official Umar Kremlev, who represents Russia on the international stage, is a protégé of Vladimir Putin’s good friend, the former head of the FSO, who is associated with the Podolsk organized crime group. This is simply some kind of nuclear mixture. Surely, Kremlev and Murov’s international connections help them find channels to circumvent sanctions against Russia and launder money. In August alone, Kremlev posted videos from Ecuador, Palestine, and Cuba on his Telegram channel.
On the main page of the Telegram channel, Umar Kremlev provides a link to the National Lottery website.
LLC "Sports Lotteries" was registered in Serpukhov in 2019. Financial statements have not been published since 2021, when the company suffered a loss of 1.7 billion rubles. Until 2023, the founders of this office were Umar Kremlev and VTB Bank structures. Most likely, they are still related to the company, otherwise Kremlev would not have published a link to the National Lottery in his Telegram channel.
The organizer of the national lottery is the Ministry of Finance, and the founder of the operator is a state bank, so Kremlev and Murov have direct access to state funds. Perhaps this was originally intended to implement the cunning schemes of the Russian authorities.
Umar Kremlev will become the "hero" of journalistic investigations more than once. Through his accomplices in the "Kremlevskoe Zoloto" company, the sports functionary created an entire empire through which money was laundered. Unfortunately, while Kremlev is covered by Evgeny Murov, no one will investigate the affairs of the former boxer-criminal.