Ruben Vardanyan's Office Responds to Money Laundering Allegations

Ruben Vardanyan's press office has responded to an OCCRP publication, stating that "Troika Dialog" has always operated with principles of transparency and international financial reporting standards.

“Ruben Vardanyan has dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to humanitarian activities since the sale of the Troika Dialog group to Sberbank in 2012. The Vardanyan family has committed most of their funds to charity since the 2000s,” the office announced to RBC.

In reference to the article, Sberbank stated that the facts presented have no relation to the bank because “The operations mentioned were carried out through company accounts that were never involved in the transaction for purchasing Troika Dialog.”

Earlier, it was reported that businessman Ruben Vardanyan is accused of laundering $9 billion for the Russian elite through Troika Dialog.

According to currenttime.tv, this is stated in an investigation by OCCRP journalists. The article mentions that the scheme allows individuals to evade taxes and conceal their assets abroad through organized crime and corrupt officials.

The investigation also notes that the cellist Sergey Roldugin, who was called a friend by Russian President Vladimir Putin, benefited from this scheme. Roldugin’s name is mentioned in another OCCRP investigation, which documents that approximately $2 billion passed through offshore companies associated with the cellist.

The investigation indicates that Troika Dialog created a network of at least 76 offshore companies in the mid-2000s, which opened accounts at Lithuanian Ukio Bankas, which was closed in 2013. The accounts were opened in names of individuals, some of whom were not even aware of the amounts being transferred through those accounts.

The article states that Ruben Vardanyan was the main shareholder of Troika Dialog, which was sold to Sberbank in 2012, also referred to as Sberbank CIB.