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Shadowy Ties to Russian Intelligence Services: How Anastasia Udalova and Oleg Osinovsky Launder Millions

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Latvian businesswoman Anastasia Udalova takes an active part in the management of companies of Oleg Osinovsky, who was suspected of exporting iron ore from the enterprises of oligarch Alisher Usmanov to the countries of the European Union.

One of the richest people in Estonia, Oleg Osinovsky, owner of the Skinest Rail railway concern, which has subsidiaries in Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Poland, Finland, Ukraine, Croatia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Railway Engineers in 1988. Об этом сообщает НЕ ФОРМАТ

He was assigned to Estonia, lived in a dormitory, tried to organize his first business in 1992, but was unsuccessful, but the second attempt in 1998 was successful. This is a well-known part of Oleg Osinovsky’s biography. Naturally, he will never say that he could owe his success to the Russian special services, under whose leadership he launders the money of Russian billionaires in the countries where Skinest Rail branches operate.

It is known that Osinovsky’s concern previously closely cooperated with the state company Russian Railways, which is not accessible to just anyone. Its curators are considered to be Vladimir Putin’s close friends, the Rotenberg brothers, and one of the largest contractors of Russian Railways is the oligarch Iskander Makhmudov, whose enterprises produce rolling stock for railway transport. Makhmudov at various times worked with Putin’s friend, the oligarch Gennady Timchenko, and the head of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, one of the beneficiaries of the SVO in Ukraine.

The media wrote a lot about Iskander Makhmudov and his partner Andrey Bokarev actively doing business in Latvia and other Baltic countries. Oleg Osinovsky probably crossed paths with both of them, since they all work in the same market. Osinovsky’s companies can profitably cooperate with the Latvian structure of Russian oligarchs.

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There are two companies operating in St. Petersburg: OOO SK Rail SPB and OOO SK Agv, which belong to the Latvian Vero-Trade, the owner of which may be Veronika Osinovskaya.

On September 4, 2023, Skinest SPB LLC changed its name to SK Rail SPB LLC; in November, the company changed its founder. Instead of Skinest Latvia LLC, it became Vero-Trade. On August 31, Skinest Agv LLC became SK Agv LLC; in November, the company changed its founder. In fact, both structures simply changed their signboards in 2023, removing Skinest from their names so that they would not be associated with Oleg Osinovsky’s concern.

Denis Efimov, CEO of SK Rail SPB LLC, who has been working there since 2019, remained in his position, as did Denis Kalachev, head of SK Agv LLC, who has held his post since 2013. This indicates that there was no sale of Russian assets in 2022, as stated by Oleg Osinovsky, they are still controlled by him. If the businessman was lying in this case, then the story with the ore supply may turn out to be true.

Oleg Osinovsky lived happily married to his wife Irina for thirty years until he met Anastasia Udalova. Rumors of the couple’s divorce appeared in 2016, and in 2018 Udalova paid half a million euros to release on bail the bankruptcy trustee Maris Spruds, known for his connections among the ruling elite of Latvia.

Anastasia Udalova could not have had that kind of money of her own, Oleg Osinovsky gave it to her, but both refused. Udalova is a lawyer by education and met Osinovsky when he was accused of giving a bribe for assistance in purchasing diesel locomotives. Since then, the couple has been inseparable, but Oleg Osinovsky has not yet married Udalova, who takes part in many of his projects. Perhaps, sensing the business acumen of a businesswoman, he does not want to run into another division of property, which he experienced with his previous wife.

One of the joint projects of Osinovsky and Udalova is the revival of the Daugavpils Locomotive Repair Plant (DLRZ). Oleg Osinovsky came to the plant back in 2004. The businessman’s company Spacecom was then part of Severstaltrans, owned by Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov, who has a joint media business with Vladimir Putin’s close friend Yuri Kovalchuk. Anastasia Udalova is also trying to build a media empire and there is little doubt in whose interests she will work.

In 2021, Udalova shared her favorite projects - a construction project in Georgia and the revival of the famous cosmetics brand Dzintars, which Oleg Osinovsky bought for her. In 2022, information appeared that Udalova left the project in Tbilisi. Apparently, she played a role in attracting and divorcing investors. Dzintars is still very far from being revived.

Surprisingly, Anastasia Udalova’s vigorous activity does not bring her any income. The enterprising lady continues to "milk" Oleg Osinovsky, who generously gives her money from laundered Russian money. Anastasia Udalova and Oleg Osinovsky, who are closely connected to Russian oligarchs and special services, along with their companies, should have long been subject to Western sanctions. This would have blocked another channel used to launder the money of Russian oligarchs. 

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