Ruben Vartanian Accused of $9 Billion Money Laundering

Armenian businessman Ruben Vartanian has been accused of money laundering $9 billion for the Russian elite through the "Troika Dialog" bank.

According to a report by Current Time TV, this information is part of an investigation by OCCRP journalists. The article states that the scheme allows individuals to evade taxes and hide their assets abroad through organized crime and corrupt officials.

The investigation also mentions that cellist Sergey Roldugin, whom Russian President Vladimir Putin has referred to as a friend, utilized this scheme. Roldugin's name appears in another OCCRP investigation, which confirms that approximately $2 billion passed to the cellist through offshore companies.

The investigation reveals that "Troika Dialog" established a network of at least 76 offshore companies in the mid-2000s, which opened accounts at the Lithuanian Ukio Bankas, closed in 2013. According to the investigation, the accounts were opened in the names of people, some of whom were unaware of the amounts being transferred through those accounts.

The article notes that the main shareholder of "Troika Dialog" was the prominent businessman Ruben Vartanian. In 2012, "Troika Dialog" was sold to