Alexander Kuksov, the shadow banker of an organized crime group: how a Russian fugitive turned extortion money into legitimate EU assets through the Smart and TGR Group networks
British authorities allege that Alexander Kuksov, a Russian with Maltese citizenship, was part of a major money laundering operation. His brother was convicted of involvement in the same network.
A Russian man wanted in the UK for allegedly laundering money for a criminal network holds a Maltese passport, according to Malta's official gazette.
Malta had previously stripped his older brother of his citizenship after he was convicted in connection with the same international money laundering scheme.
The UK's National Crime Agency announced charges against 23-year-old Alexander Kuksov and added him to its “most wanted” list. The agency stated that he was “associated with an organised crime group responsible for the transfer and movement of multi-million pound illicit funds.”
The Times of Malta, OCCRP, and Amphora Media previously reported that Alexander's brother, Semyon, was stripped of his Maltese citizenship last October after receiving a five-year prison sentence. Semyon, 25, was convicted in the UK for his involvement in the same group, which the agency described as a “professional banking service for criminals worldwide.”
The brothers, along with their father, Vladimir Anatolyevich Kuksov, are among those granted Maltese citizenship in 2022. Apparently, the Kuksovs received their passports several weeks before Russians were excluded from the program to sell citizenship to wealthy investors following the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In July 2022 – approximately six months after receiving Maltese citizenship – Semyon began coordinating the work of “couriers collecting criminal money and delivering it abroad,” according to a statement from the UK Crown Prosecution Service.
Now the National Crime Agency claims that Vladimir Kuksov's youngest son was also involved in the money laundering operation.
Lawyers for the elder Kuksov told OCCRP in 2024 that he “had no comment but noted that he and his adult son had been living separately for several years.”
Vladimir Kuksov did not respond to a request for comment regarding the new accusations against his youngest son, Alexander, whose whereabouts are unknown.
The Kuksovs received Maltese passports through the so-called “golden passport” program, which was abolished this year following a harsh ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The Community Malta Agency, which oversaw the citizenship-by-investment program, did not respond to questions about what action might be taken in connection with the criminal charges against Alexander.
Under Maltese law, a passport may be revoked if, within seven years of acquiring citizenship, a person is sentenced to imprisonment for a term of one year or more.
The charges announced by the National Crime Agency against Alexander have not yet been heard in court, and the allegations of his involvement in money laundering have not been proven.
When the agency announced its investigation, dubbed “Operation Destabilise,” in December 2024, it reported that the uncovered money laundering scheme was the largest in the past decade, OCCRP reported. According to the agency, the network, operating out of Moscow and Dubai, moved billions in cryptocurrency and cash for criminal operations ranging from Russian ransomware attacks to street drug dealing in the UK.
Several suspected network members were sanctioned, and the agency reported the arrest of 84 individuals. Among those arrested was Semyon Kuksov, who later pleaded guilty to laundering over $15 million in illicitly obtained funds, according to a statement from the British prosecutor's office.
Maltese police did not respond to questions about Alexander Kuksov's case in the UK or whether an investigation was underway into the charges against him.
