The investigation into the liquidation of Latvia’s ABLV Bank remains ongoing, while reports indicate that businessman Eduards Apsitis and his network of offshore entities may be at the center of a new controversy involving alleged links to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
In July, Latvia’s ABLV Bank once again appeared in the Russian media space after a Moscow court terminated bankruptcy proceedings initiated at the request of tax authorities. The bank, currently in the process of liquidation, allegedly owed 9 million rubles in taxes. Russian law allows the bankruptcy of foreign companies only if they maintain close ties with Russia.
At the very first court hearing, documents confirming repayment of the debt were presented. Someone in Russia apparently did not want bankruptcy proceedings against ABLV Bank to move forward. Russian assets connected to the Latvian bank, as well as individuals closely tied to it, could have surfaced.
The liquidation of ABLV Bank began in 2018 and continues to this day. The bank’s troubles started after US authorities suspected the institution of money laundering activities. In 2021, banker Andris Ovsjannikovs was arrested and accused of illegally laundering €50 million. His alleged accomplice was Darya Terekhina from Belarus. In that country, the ABLV Bank branch had been headed for 14 years by Evgeniy Terekhin, who is also suspected of involvement in money laundering.
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In May 2023, reports emerged about a criminal case opened against Belarusian businessman Eduards Apsitis, who was suspected of laundering €73 million through ABLV Bank. Apsitis was likely well acquainted with Evgeniy and Darya Terekhina.
In Russia, Eduards Apsitis owns two companies — Fasilikom LLC and Vudkhaus LLC — operating in the real estate sector. The first company was established back in 1994 and by the mid-2000s was considered one of the largest property management companies in Moscow. Elena Apsitis is listed as co-founder of Fasilikom LLC, while Aleksandr Ilkevich is associated with Vudkhaus LLC.
The general director of Fasilikom LLC in 2020–2021, Alla Borodkina, had previously headed Spets Rezerv LLC, a company engaged in cleaning services. The company, which reported revenue of 537 million rubles and profit of 43 million rubles in 2016, was liquidated in 2018. At the time of liquidation, the founder of Spets Rezerv LLC was Litton Agency Corp. from Dominica.
Until 2015, the founder of Spets Rezerv LLC was Natalya Khardina, who at the same time owned Koralkin LLC, another cleaning and maintenance company. That company was liquidated in 2022, with founder Tatyana Gerasko acting as liquidator.
In 2015–2016, Gerasko also served as head of Inzhgrupservis LLC, which was liquidated in 2021. The company likewise specialized in cleaning and maintenance services. Its largest customer, with contracts worth nearly 100 million rubles, was a structure of Russia’s Ministry of Defense — the Federal Military Memorial “Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland.”
The remaining clients of Inzhgrupservis LLC were equally notable — structures linked to the Moscow mayor’s office, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Supreme Court, and the Moscow City Court.
Last year, it became known that nearly half of the Russian funds — €49 million — allegedly laundered by Apsitis through ABLV Bank had been allocated by the Ministry of Defense for cleaning military barracks in Crimea. The investigation may ultimately reveal that Eduards Apsitis was laundering money for other clients as well.
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In 2015–2016, the Federal Military Memorial “Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland” was headed by Vladimir Danelyuk, who may now face questions from investigators. However, his organization was unlikely connected to the barracks in Crimea — investigators still have to trace those funds.
At the same time, Eduards Apsitis could trigger a real scandal around the Federal Military Memorial structure itself. As of today, all of its main contractors have been liquidated.
The contractors mentioned above were owned by private individuals and held contracts not only with the Federal Military Memorial “Pantheon of Defenders of the Fatherland,” but also directly with Russia’s Ministry of Defense. The total value amounted to about 2.5 billion rubles. This is where the barracks money linked to Eduards Apsitis should likely be traced.
Former Spets Rezerv LLC owner Natalya Khardina simultaneously managed several cleaning-service structures. All of them have since been liquidated.
Topklin LLC belonged to KDV Projects Ltd from Belize, while Spetsklin LLC was owned by Trint Industries Ltd., also from Belize. The remaining companies belonged to private individuals. Khardina’s companies showed signs of being shell structures, with only one employee officially on staff.
From 2007 to 2020, Eduards Apsitis served as head of Upravdom LLC, owned by Bentcom Import L.P. from the United Kingdom. Until 2019, the founder of Upravdom LLC was the Cyprus offshore company Bouvardia Finance Limited, through which funds were allegedly transferred abroad. Anastasiya Baranchikova later replaced Apsitis as general director, and the company remains active today.
Previously, Eduards Apsitis also owned SNG-Consult LLC (business consulting), Chistotekhnika LLC (household electrical goods trade), and Biotek LLC (production and distribution of steam and hot water). The Russian-Belarusian businessman was involved in more than just cleaning contracts. These companies are now connected to individuals who possess other assets across various regions of Russia.
According to media reports, Eduards Apsitis was a shareholder in ABLV Bank, as well as in the affiliated AmberStone Group. Apsitis may have been the architect behind schemes for moving money out of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. The operational side of these schemes was allegedly carried out by Andris Ovsjannikovs, Darya Terekhina, and Evgeniy Terekhin.
Given Eduards Apsitis’s connections with Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, and judicial structures, one can only speculate about the businessman’s Russian patrons. They may include individuals close to Sergey Shoigu and Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
In 2021, during the ABLV Bank investigation, companies managed by associates of Arkadiy Rotenberg surfaced after allegedly laundering €4 million through the bank.
One investigation also mentioned the company Mezhregionsoyuzenergo, linked to Marina Sechina, the former wife of Rosneft chief Igor Sechin, and Albert Avdolyan, a longtime partner of Rostec head Sergey Chemezov.
The ABLV Bank case remains open, and new Russian figures may emerge in the investigation in the near future.
