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Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
@P_Kallioniemi
Feb 9, 2023 • 17 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X
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In today's #vatnik soup I'll introduce a Ukrainian-born, Russian Mafia boss Semion Mogilevich. He's been described by the FBI as "the most dangerous mobster in the world" & he's been accused of weapons trafficking,contract murders, extortion, drug trafficking & prostitution.
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Some reports state that Mogilevich made a significant amount of money as a middle man selling jewelry and artwork belonging to Jews who emigrated from Kyiv during the 1980s. For this, he was convicted to prison twice: his first stint lasted 3 years and the 2nd 4 years.

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In 1995, head of the Solntsevskaya Bratva, Sergei Mikhailov allegedly tried to execute Mogilevich in Prague over a disputed payment of 5 million USD. They were supposed to attend a birthday party at the Mogilevich-owned restaurant "U Holubů", but Mogilevich never arrived ...
3/16
... and the place was raided by the Czech police. It's believed that Mogilevich had been warned about the attempt by a senior figure working for both the Czech police and for Russian mafia.

4/16
Between 1997-1998 Canadian journalists exposed a Russian Mafia operation trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The operation was eventually raided by the FBI and the company's shares worth 1 billion USD became worthless overnight.

5/16
He was also suspected in taking part in a scheme where untaxed heating oil was sold as highly taxed car fuel. This operation resulted in massive tax losses for several Central European countries, and for example in Czech Republic the scheme is estimated to have cost ...

6/16
... around 5 billion USD, all paid by the Czech taxpayers. A journalist uncovering the scandal also became a target of an assassination attempt.

Since 1998, Mogilevich's Inkombank participated in a money laundering scheme through the Bank of New York - this operation ...

7/16
... laundered approximately 10 billion USD. In 2003, he was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Their previous efforts on catching him for arms trafficking and prostitution had faltered, so they charged him with large-scale fraud.

8/16
In Jan, 2008, Mogilevich was arrested for suspected tax evasion in Moscow. His bail was posted and he was released in Jul, 2009. Russian interior ministry stated that he was let go on bail because the charges "are not of a particularly grave nature".

9/16
This warrant was updated on Apr, 2022, and they now offer 5 million USD for information "leading to the arrest and/or conviction" of Semion Mogilevich.

He's closely associated with Solntsevskaya Bratva, an organized crime group.

10/16
According to the FBI, Mogilevich was their key money-laundering contact during the 80s. Cable leaks published by WikiLeaks in 2010 suggested that the gang continues racketeering operations under the protection of the FSB.

11/16
The same leaks also revealed that Mogilevich is in control of the Swiss-registed natural gas company RosUkrEnergy and that he is a partner of Raiffeisen Bank. Officially, the former is 50% owned by Gazprom and the other 50% belongs to Dmytro Firtash and Ivan Fursin.

12/16
Based on Taras Kuzio, a non-resident fellow at Johns Hopkins-SAIS’ Center for Transatlantic Relations, "Fursin was a senior figure in the Mogilevich criminal organization".

13/16
Shortly before his death, the former FSB agent and defector Alexander Litvinenko suggested that Mogilevich and Putin had "good relationship" during the 90s. He was also well connected to the former mayor of Moscow, Yury Luzhkov,...

14/16
... former head of Ukrainian Security Service SBU, Leonid Derkach (as photographed here with Putin), and Ukrainian oligarch-in-exile Dmytro Firtash. Firtash has stated that he had to "ask for Mogilevich's permission" to do business in Russia during the 80s and 90s.

15/16
Semion currently lives freely in Moscow, and will remain a free man as Russia probably has no intentions of extraditing him to the US.

More information: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm…

16/16
Support my work (and get some AI art!): buymeacoffee.com/PKallioniemi

Past soups: vatniksoup.com
Related soups:
Dmytro Firtash:

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More from @P_Kallioniemi

Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 29
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce a Russian journalist, Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin). He’s best-known for posing as a Russian dissident, while at the same time sneakily promoting the Kremlin’s narratives about the Russo-Ukrainian War.

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On paper, Leonid doesn’t look like your typical Kremlin apologist - he’s written and worked for prestigious Western outlets like the BBC, the Guardian, and he’s even written some Lonely Planet guides for the Baltic countries!

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But Ragozin’s public commentary often seems to walk a fine line: condemning the war while pushing narratives that shift blame, dilute responsibility, or quietly carry the same old imperial baggage Russia - or its opposition - has never truly forgotten.

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Read 21 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 28
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a bank that is well-known in both Austria and Russia: Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) and its Russian subsidiary, AO Raiffeisen. It is one of the few foreign banks that still does business in Russia.

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Raiffeisen’s Russian branch was founded in 1996 and expanded dramatically after the acquisition of Russia’s Impexbank in 2006. A year later, it was the largest bank trading in foreign capital (seventh in size) in Russia.

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In the early 2000s, Raiffeisen opened new branches in Russia, including in Saint Petersburg, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Krasnodar. After 2018, it focused on digital expansion and by 2021 it had a digital presence in more than 300 cities.

3/21 Image
Read 22 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 24
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce an Estonian lawyer, social activist, politician, and useful idiot for the Kremlin, Varro Vooglaid (@varrovooglaid). He’s best-known for promoting pro-Kremlin viewpoints under the guise of “traditional family values.”

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Vooglaid has an academic background, which usually gives people plenty of credibility in the eyes of the Kremlin. Most of his academic career was spent at the University of Tartu, but he was also a researcher between 2007 and 2011 at the University of Helsinki.

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Varro is likely the most influential vatnik in Estonia. His academic credentials provide him credibility, while his religious image appeals to “traditionalists” - many of whom oddly admire Russia and its imperialistic nature.

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Read 21 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 4
In today’s Vatnik Soup REBREW, I’ll introduce a Russian ultra-nationalist propagandist and “philosopher”, Aleksandr Dugin. He’s best-known for his blueprint on Russia’s geopolitical strategy and for his genocidal rhetoric towards Ukrainians.

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In my first Dugin Soup, I covered the man’s 1997 book Foundations of Geopolitics — a manual for dismantling the West, breaking up NATO, and building a Russian-led empire. In it, he makes eerie “predictions” that seem to be playing out today.

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Dugin called for destabilizing the US by exacerbating internal divisions. Fast forward to today: culture wars, conspiracy theories, far-right lunatics, and social media algorithms doing half the work for him.

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Read 18 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 3
Tariffs memes are the hottest thing right now, so post your favorites👇🏻 Image
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Read 5 tweets
Pekka Kallioniemi Profile picture
Apr 1
In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll introduce Russian propagandist Sergei Tsaulin. He’s best-known for spreading pro-Kremlin narratives in Estonia, fleeing to Russia after breaking several laws in Estonia, and almost getting blown up by a bomb in St. Petersburg.

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For years, Tsaulin was known for organizing marches and events glorifying the Soviet Union. Under the excuse of “remembering history,” these events were nothing more than Kremlin propaganda, wrapped in a red flag with a hammer and sickle.

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One of his most infamous events was the “Immortal Regiment” march, held every 9th of May, where people carried portraits of Soviet soldiers. These marches are used by Russia to push the idea that the Baltics owe their existence to the Soviets.

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Read 18 tweets

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