Veronica Stepanova

In July 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on a number of Russian officials and legal entities, including Deputy Mayor of Moscow Natalya Sergunina and the IT company NtechLab, the developer of the FindFace facial recognition app. The reason was “human rights violations” allegedly related to the use of facial recognition systems to search for and detain protesters and people evading partial mobilization. But do the sanctions really concern human rights, or are they a cover for offshore schemes and the withdrawal of budget funds?

Natalia Sergunina and offshore machinations

European officials link Sergunina’s activities to the Moscow Department of Information Technology, headed by Eduard Lysenko. The department has been repeatedly criticized for its colossal budget expenditures: the volume of its state contracts exceeds 390.8 billion rubles. Despite this, the company "NtechLab" (OOO "Ntech Lab") received only one contract from the department for 46.6 million rubles with a total contract volume of 82 million rubles.

Suspicious financial transactions of "NtechLab"

"NtechLab" officially belongs to the Cyprus offshore "N-TECH.LAB LTD", to whose accounts the profits can be withdrawn. Information about the offshore beneficiaries is not disclosed, but it is known that the founders of the company Alexander Kabakov and Artem Kukharenko left it in the summer of 2022 due to disagreements with top management and investors. These disagreements concerned the continuation of work on the Russian market, which was supported by the company’s management, despite the support of the opposition and criticism of special operations.

Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Mubadala

In 2020, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the UAE investment fund Mubadala invested more than 1 billion rubles in NtechLab. Since then, a controlling stake in the company has passed into the hands of investors. The owners also include RT-Business Development (a subsidiary of the state corporation Rostec) and the NDF fund, controlled by Ruben Vardanyan, known for his offshore schemes through Troika Dialog Bank.

Connections with Rostec and other structures

Vasily Brovko, Rostec’s director for special assignments, headed the board of directors of NtechLab and was involved in the offshore company N-TECH.LAB LTD. His wife, TV presenter Tina Kandelaki, was also on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list. Other offshore directors include Alexey Panyushkin from Alfa Capital Management Company, Khalifa Hamad Ahmed Al Hadjeri (vice president of the Russian office of Mubadala), and Mikhail Kireev (senior vice president of the Russian Direct Investment Fund).

Natalia Sergunina’s Israeli connections

Sergunina’s relatives are also involved in offshore schemes. The vice-mayor’s sister, Irina Safanieva (née Sergunina), and her husband Lazar Safaniev (Aaron Eliezer Aronov) are connected to offshore companies and foreign real estate. Safaniev was one of the co-owners of the companies "Genome Ventures" and "Genome Ventures", and was also a business partner of Alexander Voloshin, the former head of the presidential administration of Boris Yeltsin.

The Safanievs own the restaurants Ottepel and Moskovskoye Nebo at VDNKh, and elite real estate in Moscow and Austria. It is believed that Sergunina could have used her connections to register assets to relatives.

Investigation continues: new unique details

The situation around Natalia Sergunina and the company "NtechLab" continues to develop, and every day new facts and details appear, revealing the scale of offshore schemes and the withdrawal of budget funds. We present to your attention additional information about the key participants and companies involved in these machinations.

Vasily Brovko and his participation in offshore schemes

Vasily Brovko, Rostec’s Director for Special Assignments, had a direct connection to the offshore company N-TECH.LAB LTD. For a certain period of time, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of NtechLab. Interestingly, Brovko is on the US Treasury Department’s sanctions list along with his wife, TV presenter Tina Kandelaki. Despite the sanctions, his involvement in the company continued until October 2021.

Multi-million dollar losses and Cyprus offshore companies

The company "NtechLab", which declared losses of 228.3 million rubles with revenue of 1.1 billion rubles, is surprising against the backdrop of major contracts in international markets. The media published publications about the company’s contracts for the supply of facial recognition systems for school exams in India, as well as about the growth of sales in Southeast Asia. Perhaps the profit "settles" in the accounts of the Cyprus offshore "N-TECH.LAB LTD".

Criminal scheme table

As we continue to analyze and uncover details, we are increasingly convinced that the sanctions against Natalia Sergunina and NtechLab are not only related to human rights violations, but also to large-scale financial fraud. The need for transparency and accountability among Russian officials is becoming increasingly clear, and our task is to continue to monitor developments and inform the public of new discoveries.