Konstantin Kagalovsky

Summary

Konstantin Grigoryevich Kagalovsky (Russian: Константин Григорьевич Кагаловский; born 13 October 1957) is a Russian businessman. He is the former vice-president of the oil company Yukos and a key Yukos shareholder, former deputy chairman of Bank Menatep, and the former Russian representative to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).[1] Kagalovsky claims to be the owner of the Ukrainian TV channel TVi.[2]

Konstantin Kagalovsky
Born (1957-10-13) 13 October 1957 (age 66)
NationalityRussian
CitizenshipRussian & British
Alma materMoscow Finance Institute (PhD)
Spouse
Natasha Kagalovsky
(m. 1994)

Biography edit

In 1980, he graduated from the Moscow Finance Institute with a PhD in economics. In the late 1980s, he was a member of a group of young free-market economists, and was a close associate of Anatoly Chubais, who has been both praised and criticised for his involvement in the mass privatization of state assets after the fall of the Soviet Union.[3]

Beginning in 1980, Kagalovsky worked in research institutes of the USSR State Planning Committee (Gosplan) (Russian: Госплан СССР) and the USSR Academy of Sciences (Russian: Академия наук СССР).[4] In 1989, he founded and led the International Center for Research on Economic Reforms (Russian: Международный центр исследований экономических реформ).[4]

In 1991 in a dacha outside Moscow, Kagalovsky, Andrey Vavilov, and three others developed an economic platform for Russia.[5]

In November 1991, he became Russia's representative on international financial matters and between October 1992 and 1995, he was Russia's representative to the IMF.[6][a]

In November 1994, he became the deputy chairman of Bank Menatep, and was a close associate of formerly jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his colleague, Platon Lebedev. In November 1995, Menatep took part in a mortgage auction, which resulted in its takeover of the oil company Yukos obtaining a 45% stake for only $159 million, which was well below Yukos market value, after $120 million had been deposited with Menatap from the government.[7] In opposition to Menatap's bid for Yukos, Alfa-Bank of the Alfa Group tried to get financial support from Marvin Davis's Martin Oil but failed because Kagalovsky flew to Los Angeles and talked Davis out of it.[7] Then, Alfa-Bank formed a consortium with Rossiysky Kredit and Vladimir Vinogradov's Inkombank, however, Anatoly Chubais supported Menatap and Kagalovsky so Chubais blocked the bid from Alfa-Bank's consortium due to legal issues.[7] Subsequently, from June 1998 to June 2002, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Yukos. In 1999 he became the vice-president of Yukos. In 1996, Kagalovsky and Alfred Koch were in Barbados together.[8]

In 1999, he, his wife Natasha Kagalovsky, an executive at the Bank of New York, and Bruce Rappaport, a major shareholder of Bank of New York[9][10] were accused of money laundering,[11] however they denied any wrongdoing, and charges were never filed.

In September 2003, he unsuccessfully ran for a position in the Duma under the party Yabloko,[12] however Yabloko failed to overcome the five percent barrier which was required for parties to be considered. At the time, he was the second richest man to run for office in the Fourth Duma Session.[13]

In September 2004, he headed a UK-based investor consortium that attempted to buy shares in Yukos from its former head Mikhail Khodorkovsky in order to pay off its debts. The ruling Maktoum family of Dubai, United Arab Emirates offered to pay US$10 billion to pay off Yukos' tax debts in exchange for controlling stock in the company. However, the Kremlin refused this proposal.[1][14]

Today, he lives in exile in London.[15] He and fellow Russian oligarch Vladimir Gusinsky[16] launched a TV station TVi in Ukraine in 2008. They split due to a business dispute, and currently, Kagalovsky controls and continues to fund TVi on his own.[17] On 24 April 2013 Oleksandr Altman was officially registered as TVi's owner but according to Kagalovsky the documents showing that he sold the station were forged.[2]

He is known to be an associate of many Russian oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich, Eugene Shvidler, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and the late Boris Berezovsky.[7][18][19]

Personal life edit

He lives in London and owns properties at New York City's Time Warner Center, Moscow, Rome and on the French Riviera.[5][20][21]

He is married to ex-Bank of New York executive Natasha (née Gurfinkel) Kagalovsky (b. 1954, Leningrad, USSR) with whom he has a son.[22][23] She has equivalent to bachelor's and master's degrees from Leningrad State University.[22] She emigrated to the United States in 1979 and then received a master's degree in Near Eastern studies from Princeton.[22] In 1986, she began working at Irving Bank Corp which, in 1988, was acquired by Bank of New York.[22][24][25][26] She is very close to Semion Mogilevich who allegedly instructed Natasha Kagalovsky to wire transfer Cali cartel funds from Bank of New York accounts though Brazilian banks to offshore shell companies.[27][28]

Notes edit

  1. ^ He became the Russian Federation's plenipotentiary representative to both the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank from 1990 to 1991.[4] From January to September 1992, he was the Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Russian Federation for Interaction with International Financial Organizations, Economic Advisor to the Government of the Russian Federation.[4] From September to October 1992, he held the Russian Federation's ambassador post on the board of the International Monetary Fund.[4]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "UK-based group eyes Yukos bailout: A UK-based investor consortium has approached the Kremlin with an offer to bail out troubled oil giant Yukos". BBC. July 23, 2004. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Ukrainian TV Station Staff Strike To Protest Takeover, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (24 April 2013)
    Staff strike at Ukraine's opposition TV after takeover Archived April 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, GlobalPost (24 April 2013)
    "Ukraine's only critical TV station silenced by ownership dispute". Reuters. April 25, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Wedel, Janine R. (September 12, 1999). "How the Chubais Clan, Harvard Fed Corruption". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Справка-отчет за сентябрь 1997 г." [Reference-report for September 1997]. Базы данных СБ Группы "Мост" (Database of SB Group "Most") (in Russian). September 1997. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Saul, Stephanie; Story, Louise (February 11, 2015). "At the Time Warner Center, an Enclave of Powerful Russians". New York Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  6. ^ Bonner, Raymond; O'Brien, Timothy L. (August 19, 1999). "ACTIVITY AT BANK RAISES SUSPICIONS OF RUSSIA MOB TIE". New York Times. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Жегулев, Илья (Zhegulev, Ilya) (November 21, 2013). "Эхо ЮКОСа: куда исчез автор залоговых аукционов Константин Кагаловский" [Echo of Yukos: Where did the author of loans-for-shares auctions Konstantin Kagalovsky disappeared?]. Forbes (in Russian). Retrieved December 21, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ АЛЬФРЕД И ЕГО БАРБАДОС: ИСТОРИЯ ОДНОГО ПИСЬМА. «НОВАЯ ГАЗЕТА»
  9. ^ "Crime without punishment: The latest money-laundering scandal in New York confirms that the evil of organised crime is woven into Russian life—and that it is starting to infect the rest of the world". The Economist. August 26, 1999. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  10. ^ "Evolution of a maffia". The Economist.
  11. ^ "Business: The Economy: Couple deny money laundering charge". BBC. August 27, 1999. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  12. ^ Mereu, Francesca. "Yukos Takes a Bite Out of Yabloko's Party List". Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  13. ^ "Dollar Millionaires Who Ran for Election to the Fourth Duma Session. Top 27 - Kommersant Moscow". Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  14. ^ "They Asked Vladimir Putin like a Member of the Family - Kommersant Moscow". Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  15. ^ "Refworld | Viktor Yanukovych Two Years on: Why Many Got Him Wrong". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  16. ^ Freeland, Chrystia (July 11, 2009). "Russia's free media find a haven in Ukraine". FT magazine. Archived from the original on May 7, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  17. ^ "Oligarchs strengthen grip over TV - Aug. 18, 2011". August 18, 2011.
  18. ^ Bone, James; Lister, David; Fleck, Fiona (September 7, 1999). "Yeltsin 'family' tycoon linked to cash scandal". iskran.ru. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  19. ^ "Russians see politics in bank scandal". The New York Times. August 28, 1999. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  20. ^ "Nicholas Haslam Designs a Serene Villa and Garden on the Côte d'Azur". March 2008.
  21. ^ Peppiatt, Michael (June 27, 2017). "Nicholas Haslam Designs a Serene Villa and Garden on the Côte d'Azur: The architect pays homage to 1930s style when creating the grand and glamorous home on the Mediterranean coast". Architectural Digest. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020. This article originally appeared in the March 2008 issue of Architectural Digest.
  22. ^ a b c d O'Brien, Timothy L.; Bonner, Raymond (August 23, 1999). "Money Laundering Inquiry Uncovers a Woman's Meteoric Rise". New York Times. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  23. ^ Бутрин, Дмитрий (Butrin, Dmitry); Кваша, Максим (Kvasha, Maxim); Плешанова, Ольга (Pleshanova, Olga); Разумова, Мария (Razumova, Maria); Аскер-Заде, Наиля (Asker-Zade, Nailya) (May 18, 2007). "Дела давно минувших рублей: Против Bank of New York подан иск на $22,5 млрд" [Cases of long past rubles: Bank of New York filed a $ 22.5 billion lawsuit]. Kommersant. Archived from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2020. http://www.compromat.ru/page_20751.htm Возобновление расследования о махинациях 90-х Reopening of the investigation into the machinations of the 90s {{cite news}}: External link in |quote= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Седых, Игорь (Sedykh, Igor) (August 1, 2002). "Предыстория операции "Паутина": Большая стирка. По новым следам русской мафии" [Background to Operation Cobweb: Big Wash. Following the new tracks of the Russian mafia]. «Совершенно секретно» (Top Secret) (in Russian). Geneva. Retrieved December 21, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ Лурье, Олег (Lurie, Oleg) [in Russian] (February 5, 2002). "Прачечная на обороте больничного меню: Темный лес. В "сухом остатке" — миллионы отмытых долларов" [Laundry on the back of the hospital menu: Dark forest. The bottom line is millions of laundered dollars]. «Версия» (in Russian). Retrieved December 21, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ Kochan, Nick (2005). "Chapter 2 BoNYGate". The Washing Machine: How Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Soils Us. Mason, Ohio: Cengage Learning. ISBN 9781587991592.
  27. ^ Varese, Frederico (October 11, 2001). Russian Mafia: Private Protection in a New Market Economy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198297369.
  28. ^ "ДИНОЗАВРЫ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОГО РЭКЕТА: Сева Могилевич" [DINOSAURS OF THE DOMESTIC RACKET: Seva Mogilevich]. «Украины Криминальной» (cripo.com.ua) (in Russian). December 23, 2004. Retrieved August 26, 2021.