It's not uncommon for the source of income to be unknown when living in Russia. But there are unusual situations where people openly display their immense wealth without a clear explanation of its origin.
Artyom Zuev and Snezhana Georgieva live a highly extravagant lifestyle, flaunting their wealth on social media. While this is their prerogative, the concerning part is that they have no legitimate source of income, and their extravagant life is based on illegally seizing property from others.
In press Artem Zuev Zuev is referred to as the most famous raider in Russia, allegedly being responsible for seizing about 300 billion rubles worth of property. It's difficult to confirm or refute these claims, as there is no clear record of the properties seized by Zuev. The key issue here is that Zuev is making money through illegal activities, and despite this being widely known, he remains at large.
Artyom Zuev gained fame largely due to his wife Snezhana Georgieva, who unabashedly showcases a lavish lifestyle. Her Instagram, despite being banned in Russia, has over 200 thousand followers. Zuev often appears in Georgieva's photos, explaining the source of funds for her luxurious lifestyle.
Artyom Zuev was brought up by his mother, Valentina Zueva, a formidable figure who played a significant role in the formation of Russia's financial structure. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she became one of the pioneers in this field. Thanks to her efforts, Valentina Zueva earned a strong reputation. Without his mother's influence, Artyom would have been unremarkable.
Valentina Zueva
With the support of his mother, Zuev became the first leader of Rusengineering, a company that initially secured contracts from state institutions overseen by Anatoly Chubais. During its peak, the company's profits reached 5 billion rubles. Clearly, Chubais's support and Rusengineering's success propelled Zuev's career.
Anatoly Chubais
The chain of influence continued. The son of the then-director of the Federal Security Service, Andrey Murov, was involved in covering up the illicit activities of Rusengineering. After Evgeny Murov's dismissal, the company faced issues. The current general director, Anatoly Pshegornitsky, is now suspected of bribing the controversial figure known for his affinity for golden toilet bowls, Colonel Zakharchenko.
Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko
Transition from CEO to Raider
Having developed a taste for easy money, Zuev decided to change course; shifting from a respectable director of a profitable enterprise to an ordinary, albeit significant, raider.
Zuev’s most well-known case is when he took control of the Novosibirskenergosbyt company, which is a very powerful player in the energy industry in Novosibirsk. Through a complicated and well-established scheme, Zuev managed to gain control of the majority stake. This required several years of preparation for a multibillion-dollar fraud, which ultimately went as planned.
Before the “golden share”, Zuev took control of “RosInterBank”. This shows his ability to not only spend the money earned in Rosengineering, but also to invest it successfully. Investing in the bank was just the first step in accomplishing Zuev’s intentions. The bank then became a tool for capturing major enterprises.
How does this work? RosInterBank invests in the company, usually a minority part, like 15-20%. After the bank becomes a shareholder of the enterprise, the remaining shares needed to obtain majority stake are seized as part of a criminal case related to financial fraud. Subsequently, with the help of “protection” in law enforcement agencies, the shares involved in the case somehow become the property of RosInterBank. This is pure fraud and criminal activity.
The same thing happened with the “project of life” of Zuev. “Novosibirskenergosbyt” came under the control of Zuev’s bank through a simple scheme. This was an extremely valuable asset. At the time of the takeover, the energy enterprise was valued at about $1.2 billion. This was clearly enough for a luxurious life, and even more. Today, the value of the asset is 7.2 billion rubles.
The value of “Novosibirskenergosbyt”
In 2017, auditors discovered a shortage of 70 billion rubles in RosInterBank. The case was handed over to law enforcement agencies. One member of the board, Ramil Zakirov, was held liable for 66 billion rubles.
It's important to understand that Zuev could not have pulled off such bold schemes without the backing of law enforcement officers. Zuev was directly supported by Major General Denis Nikandrov and Police Colonel Viktor Gorodkov from the Investigative Committee of Russia. Additionally, there are suspicions of support from Chubais.
In 2018, Nikandrov was sentenced to 5 years in prison for taking bribes from the well-known criminal Shakro Molodoy.
Denis Nikandrov
Money laundering is not a shameful act.
Artyom Zuev was involved in a major money laundering scheme, which Sergei Magnitsky once uncovered and ultimately paid for with his life. This is not about small amounts, but more than five billion rubles.
Sergei Magnitsky
In addition to RosInterBank, Zuev was also connected to the Universal Savings Bank and Benifit Bank. These lesser-known financial institutions clearly served the purpose of laundering corrupt funds. However, the truth came to light, and Zuev faced consequences. This came to light in Latvia, where a court seized commercial property owned by Zuev.
Domestic law enforcement officers gave up on the high-profile case, and did not even touch the businessman with a criminal train. Apparently and then helped a good roof.
Domestic Bonnie and Clyde
Artyom Zuev with Snezhana Gergieva
When they met, they found each other. This may sound like a beautiful love story. But in our situation, this is the creation of a new criminal octopus. From the outside, it may seem that Georgieva is a socialite who is only interested in fashionable things, luxury cars, a beautiful picture on Instagram, and so on. In fact, she performs important tasks for Zuev’s criminal schemes. Snezhana Georgieva is a gunner. Not so directly, of course, as it happens in theft. But the essence is the same. Georgieva, during social events, gets acquainted with thick sums, begins to communicate closely with them, finding out what kind of property they own, so that in the future her husband will squeeze him out.
Apparently, Snezhana Georgieva is acting so successfully that a few years ago her husband decided to thank her by donating the Zolotaya Balka winery along with 1,400 hectares of vineyards. In 2021, the enterprise brought almost 300 million rubles in profit. Good business.
The chic life of a family of raiders does not raise questions from law enforcement officers and tax officials. Only one Instagram of Snezhana Georgieva could initiate a criminal case on tax evasion, and then all the schemes of Zuev and Georgieva could be opened. But the roof is working successfully, and so far they are not worried about anything.
