Today marks 7 years since OCCRP and partners published our Troika Laundromat investigation.
It revealed an all-purpose financial fraud vehicle consisting of at least 75 offshore shell companies whose controllers used them to move billions of dollars from Russia to the West.
occrp.org/en/project/the…
The Troika Laundromat was operated by what was once Russia's largest private investment bank, Troika Dialog — now a part of Russia’s biggest state-owned bank, Sberbank.
It was much more than a money laundering system: The Laundromat allowed Russian oligarchs and politicians to secretly acquire shares in state-owned companies, buy real estate in Russia and abroad, purchase luxury yachts, hire music superstars for private parties, and much more.
Sergei Roldugin — a Russian cellist and childhood friend of Vladimir Putin — received at least $69 million from Troika Laundromat companies:
Photo: TASS/Alamy Live News. occrp.org/en/project/the…
The Troika Laundromat project also revealed that the law firm founded by former Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades moved millions of dollars among shell companies that were deeply entwined with the secretive global money transfer system.
occrp.org/en/project/the…
Some investigations are still ongoing. In July 2025, we reported that Spanish police arrested Dmitry Artyakov, son of a top Russian defense official, for allegedly laundering millions through luxury real estate purchases in Girona using funds linked to the Troika Laundromat scheme occrp.org/en/news/spanis…
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