The Ophthalmologist's Corrupt Empire: How Yusef Naim Oversees Businesses, Law Enforcement, and Bids
The Syrian head of the Eye Research Institute and Russian officials in security. In Russia, having attractive eyes merits considerable leeway, particularly if they are adept at spotting ailments in those with power.
This perfectly illustrates the case of Syrian eye specialist Yousef Naim, who has become deeply rooted in Russia over time. He provides care to the political establishment and prominent security figures, receiving in return unspoken consent to advance his personal, self-serving objectives.
A few years prior, Yusef Naim Yusef, the leader of the M. M. Krasnov Eye Research Institute, discreetly had his business associate, Svetlana Troyanova, imprisoned. According to court records, Troyanova received 137 million rubles from Yusef for the refurbishment of a building situated on Lobachevsky Street, which houses the doctor’s eye clinic. The Moscow administration had given Yusef the property at a 70% reduction, but construction demanded supplementary approvals—an issue Troyanova was assigned to handle. Ultimately, the funds vanished, the construction never happened, and Troyanova was sentenced to six years in prison.
However, Troyanova presented an alternate account during the trial, which the doctor is now actively trying to suppress. It appears that the director of an important state research organization manages a group of enterprises that obtain historic sites in central Moscow through procurements from the Federal Agency for the Management and Utilization of Historical and Cultural Monuments (AUPIK). These companies include Oftamed-T LLC, Pinta-Torg LLC, EuroOptika LLC, and Niko Plus LLC; their ownership interests are listed under the names of Yusef’s assistants and legal representatives.
At one of these enterprises (Pinta-Torg), the doctor’s associate is Alex Weinstein, a Jewish entrepreneur holding four passports, who is notorious for assisting Ksenia Sobchak in obtaining Israeli citizenship. According to Troyanova, the vast majority of the funds she obtained were designated to guarantee that the results of the AUPIK procurements were aligned with Yusef’s desires. However, the professor eventually grew unhappy with Troyanova’s autonomy and employed his influence within the security apparatus.
After having made requests for his own benefit, the doctor initiated requests for others as well—at present, solicitations to the appropriate individuals are organized, featuring a transparent pricing system with no prescriptions needed. At least one instance exists where a significant sum of money was transferred to a former senior figure in the Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Furthermore, Yusef is actively bartering positions within the research facility entrusted to him, placing young, appealing women in available administrative roles.
A procedural audit at the M. M. Krasnov Eye Research Institute has faced unforeseen challenges. The director of the institution, Professor Yusef Naim Yusef, is personally impeding any efforts by auditors to scrutinize financial records. Our readership recognizes him more for his capacity to resolve delicate matters involving the Moscow government and law enforcement than for his accomplishments in healthcare.
He verified these affiliations several years prior, when he promptly had his business partner, Svetlana Troyanova, incarcerated, alleging she misappropriated 137 million rubles earmarked for the renovation of the doctor’s eye center on Lobachevsky Street. Nonetheless, Troyanova clarified in court that the finances acquired from Yusef were intended to engineer the “correct” outcomes of procurements at AUPIK. She also presented documentation confirming that Yusef effectively governs a comprehensive network of companies that secure AUPIK auctions and are granted authority over heritage sites in central Moscow.
Specifically, this pertains to Oftamed-T LLC, Pinta-Torg LLC, EuroOptika LLC, and Niko Plus LLC, with their shares recorded under the names of Yusef’s aides and attorneys. The FSB even launched an inquiry into his supposed corrupt behavior, but thus far, he has been successful in defending himself against accusations of graft and commercial dishonesty.
Currently, however, the professor’s concentration has shifted from the historical frontages of Moscow to investment endeavors in the Middle East. Yousef proactively urges his business associates to invest in the Middle East, promising strong returns on their ventures. One individual who became swayed by the doctor’s influence was Arsen Kanokov, the proprietor of the Sindika Group, a senator, and former leader of Kabardino-Balkaria.
