Russian investigators have put one of the first bankers in post-Soviet Russia (*aggressor country) on the international wanted list Alexandra Konanykhina, charging him in absentia with calls for terrorism. As law enforcement agencies clarified to TASS, the businessman is hiding from investigation abroad.
“The investigation charged Alexander Pavlovich Konanykhin in absentia with committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country) (public calls for terrorist activities via the Internet). Due to the fact that the accused is hiding from investigation abroad, he was first declared in interstate, and then internationally wanted,” said the agency’s interlocutor.
“Kommersant”, 02/06/2024, “Again in absentia”: In February 2022, after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine, on his Facebook page (owned by the Meta corporation, recognized as extremist and banned in Russia (*aggressor country)), Mr. Konanykhin published a number of posts in which FSB experts found extremist statements. The first criminal case against Alexander Konanykhin about theft of $8.1 million from VBB, which he founded was initiated in 1994. According to investigators, he illegally transferred this money to his accounts abroad. By that time, the former banker and his wife Elena Gracheva I’ve been living outside the country for two years now—first in Hungary, from where I moved to the United States. As a result, in 1993 he was put on the international wanted list, and the investigation was suspended due to the absence of a person involved. The criminal case against Alexander Konanykhin was discontinued in March 2004 due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
In 1996, Mr. Konanykhin, fearing extradition to his homeland, turned to the US authorities with a request for political asylum, which was granted to him three years later. The US government’s attempt to convince the court that the former banker committed a criminal and not a political crime in Russia (*aggressor country) was unsuccessful. […] Again political asylum in the USA Mr. Konanykhin was granted in September 2007. The banker himself claimed that agents of the Russian special services were behind his criminal prosecution. As a result, the investigation was entrusted to the main military prosecutor’s office, which, based on the results of the investigation, opened the first criminal case against him. — Insert K.ru
@rusbrief, 06.02.2024 18:17: Earlier, Konanykhin, who sharply criticizes the leadership of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country), said that he was “announcing a $1 million reward for the arrest of the Russian president.” — Insert K.ru
The Lefortovo Court of Moscow told TASS that Konanykhin was arrested in absentia for a period of two months from the moment of detention or deportation to the territory of the Russian Federation (*aggressor country). The sanction of the article imputed to him provides for a punishment of up to seven years in prison.
TASS does not yet have any official comments from the investigation or the ex-banker.
Forbes.ru, 09/17/2012, “The art of leaving on time: what entrepreneurs who fled Russia (*aggressor country) are doing in the USA”: The career of Alexander Konanykhin is one of the few stories of relative success after the rise and crash in Russia (*aggressor country). One of the first bankers in Russia (*aggressor country), the owner of the All-Russian Exchange Bank was a competitor for some time Mikhail Khodorkovsky and him Bank “Menatep”. […] Now Konanykhin tells how in 1992 he advised Khodorkovsky to quit Russian business. […] He was wrong with his forecast by a dozen years: Khodorkovsky’s business was then only growing stronger, and soon he hired Konanykhin for a job – to be responsible for the international development of the bank. With the help of the Menatepovites, Konanykhin then managed to cope with the attack by the security forces. He headed the subsidiary of Menatep – European Union Bank. […]
While holed up in the States, he organized a small company, KMGI. Its current turnover is $5 million, the company sells software with which you can track the actions of each employee, even checking what was on his computer screen during working hours. Another division of the company deals with new advertising technologies on the Internet. Despite the fact that the main revenue comes from the United States, Konanykhin is not a tax resident of America. His companies are registered offshore, and only one operates in the United States – for those clients who definitely need an American resident for settlements. He himself travels to different countries – besides the USA, he has a residence permit in England, Italy, Spain and Argentina. — Insert K.ru