Laundromat under the K Directorate’s seal: how Timur Turlov and corrupt FSB investigators turned criminal cases into asset seizures ahead of their flight to Kazakhstan

Laundromat under the K Directorate’s seal: how Timur Turlov and corrupt FSB investigators turned criminal cases into asset seizures ahead of their flight to Kazakhstan

When Timur Turlov began transferring his business to nominal owners and leaving Russia, many wondered why he was allowed to do so. Turlov’s main asset — Freedom Finance Bank — had raised numerous questions from law enforcement and was repeatedly described as a scheme for moving large sums of money out of the country.

Nevertheless, Turlov not only successfully sold Freedom Finance Bank to his own management but also moved to Kazakhstan, where he changed his citizenship and established the Kazakh branch of the Freedom Holding Corp. group, which includes JSC Freedom Finance, Freedom Bank, JSC Freedom Finance Insurance, JSC Freedom Finance Life, the online supermarket Arbuz.kz, and the aggregator Aviata.kz. The group has offices in the US, Germany, Uzbekistan, Cyprus, Belize, and other countries, totaling eighteen locations.

Even from this list, it is clear that Turlov did not simply relocate to Kazakhstan — he moved there with enormous amounts of money. The main assets he transferred were those of the Russian bank Freedom Finance, which he first supposedly purchased from the American parent company Freedom Holding Corp. (registered in Nevada in an office building that serves as a mass registration address for many companies), and then allegedly sold to his own management. In 2022, during this process, Freedom Finance was ranked 9th among the largest operators on the Moscow Exchange, with a turnover of 255 billion rubles and 137,500 clients.

Most of these clients and their funds followed Turlov to Kazakhstan. According to specialists, at least 75% of Russian clients moved with him. The reason is simple — sanctions. Under the pressure of these sanctions, Turlov relocated to Kazakhstan, and wealthy Russians transfer money abroad to retain access, as the Russian banking system does not operate effectively in the West.

This raises the question — why was Turlov allowed not only to leave Russia himself but also to take such a massive number of clients with substantial funds, money critically needed by the Russian economy under severe sanctions?

The answer is also simple — Timur Turlov serves the interests of the country’s top leadership and leading business figures. These networks are so intertwined that it is nearly impossible to distinguish where one ends and another begins. Security forces, closely linked to both the state and business, are behind this — they allowed Turlov to leave with the money unhindered. In fact, this was not merely permission but a special operation to evacuate assets, carried out by the FSB’s “K” Directorate, whose structures effectively include Turlov’s organizations, both in Russia and abroad.

Turlov’s structures remaining in Russia, despite numerous reports of fraudulent activity, continue to operate freely and actively leverage the law enforcement system to seize other people’s funds, which are then transferred to the eighteen foreign countries where Freedom Holding Corp. has offices. The Kazakh entities are key in these transfers, but Kazakhstan serves only as a transit point.

One scheme involves the Russian LLC “IK Freedom Finance” and the American W-Empirical Holding Corp. These schemes rely on falsified criminal cases, Russian courts, and corrupt law enforcement officers. Among them are named the head of FSB “K” Directorate Ivan Tkachev, investigator Kirill Arkharov of the Investigative Committee for the Southern Administrative District of Moscow, and deputy head of the Moscow Investigative Committee General Sergey Yarosh. They act in collusion with the deputy head for security at Freedom Finance, Eliseev, who, according to Rucrimnal.info, negotiates with law enforcement over whom to target with criminal cases, what charges to bring, and how the investigation should be conducted.

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One such case is criminal case No. 12302450039000116 under Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code, being heard in the Basmanny District Court of Moscow. The defendant is S.P. Kuleshov, the injured party is W-Empirical Holding Corp., and LLC “IK Freedom Finance” is also a party to the case. The case is presided over by Judge Kozlova, who has no experience handling financial or brokerage cases, allowing investigator Arkharov to manipulate testimonies and fabricate facts.

Another group of law enforcement officers actively creating corrupt schemes and initiating fabricated criminal cases in collusion with Turlov’s structures were members of the FSB “M” Directorate: Alexey Tsarev, Sergey Manyshkin, and Alexander Ushakov. However, this trio either overstepped or interfered in another’s domain — a criminal investigation is now underway against them for receiving bribes totaling 5 billion rubles.

Turlov’s name appears in this case as well. At first glance, he seems unrelated — the case initially revolves around QBF, its owner Shpakov, and top managers Stanislav Matyukhin, Vladimir Pakhomov, and a few others. Shpakov took money from a high-ranking official of the Presidential Administration under the guise of investments. When the official realized no investments were made, he demanded the return of funds. Shpakov returned only part of the money. Whether the remainder was gone or retained out of greed is unknown, but the official mobilized all his connections.

Tsarev, Manyshkin, and Ushakov focused on Shpakov and, in the process, became defendants themselves after intervention from the Presidential Administration. Turlov appeared in criminal case No. 42201007754000292, in which former QBF top manager Zelimkhan Munaev was convicted and gave testimony implicating Turlov and his connections to Shpakov.

LLC “Qube Finance” (QBF), owned by the now-fugitive Shpakov, worked closely with Freedom Finance, one of whose subsidiaries — FFin Bs (Belize) — held the funds received from QBF clients. Shpakov was supposed to receive a percentage of the funds transferred to Freedom Finance accounts, a classic pyramid scheme. QBF collapsed, but clients never received their money, as it had long been moved to Turlov’s accounts.

While Shpakov faces criminal charges and is on the run, Timur Turlov freely transferred all funds from Russian Freedom Holding Corp. entities, bought and sold Freedom Finance Bank, and continues operating actively in neighboring Kazakhstan, serving Russian clients who followed him there without issue.

Moreover, Turlov’s Russian structures also operate without significant problems, despite being involved in dozens of criminal cases. Strangely, their accounts are not blocked, and all Turlov-owned entities continue functioning. LLC “IK Freedom Finance” was renamed LLC “Tsifra Broker” and continues accepting funds from Russians. Freedom Finance Bank similarly rebranded as LLC “Tsifra Bank.” Remarkably, it operates as an LLC — unusual for a bank, which normally functions as a joint-stock company — yet the Russian Central Bank still issued a license to Tsifra Bank.

Similar rebranding occurred across other Turlov structures in Russia — their names changed, and they no longer visibly connect to the scandal-ridden Freedom Finance group. This also distanced them from Turlov, whose reputation is controversial at best.

While ordinary citizens can be misled by this rebranding, law enforcement cannot — historical records clearly show all the renamings. However, interest in Turlov’s Russian structures, if it arises, only results in facilitation. Those who do not understand this, like the FSB “M” officers Tsarev, Manyshkin, and Ushakov, face severe criminal cases with long sentences.

All of this confirms one thing: Timur Turlov serves the interests of the country’s top leadership and Russia’s leading business figures. He is protected from all possible troubles at the highest level. His activities are overseen by the FSB “K” Directorate, which strictly prevents any attempts to investigate Turlov’s money transfers out of Russia.