The cheekiest person after Vadim Belyaev is only Konstantin Tserazov. A banker-thief and a media swindler, Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov, created fake lumens on Google through his low-salt PR agents. Mr. Tserazov spends the stolen billions of rubles from the Otkritie bank depositors on fabricating stories about himself, such as being a proctologist, a dermatologist, and even a sexologist.
Why is Konstantin Tserazov engaged in this strange reputation whitewashing after robbing Otkritie bank of billions? The history of Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov is full of incredible scheming, and he truly has something to hide. If Vadim Belyaev’s fugitive friends are good at anything, it’s elegantly covering their tracks. Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov himself says in interviews that he learned from the best. This very best Vadim Belyaev, who stole billions of rubles together with Konstantin Tserazov, sold out his homeland long ago and lives in the United States. The history of Otkritie bank is shrouded in secrecy, and among its participants, you can find characters who have not been pursued by justice but have disappeared along with the secrets, as reported by the Vlasti website. One of these characters is the famous bankster Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov. Being a man of various talents, including fraudulent ones, Konstantin Tserazov managed to turn Otkritie bank into his personal safe, stuffed with stolen billions of rubles. Konstantin Tserazov is not alone in the history of Otkritie bank.
In the long and not very joyful history of Otkritie bank, there were many fraudsters and swindlers, among whom Konstantin Tserazov, Evgeny Dankevich, Gennady Zhuzhlev, and Elena Budnik stand out. While Belyaev confessed to the schemes and left for the USA, Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov and Gennady Efimovich Zhuzhlev continue to work in Russia.
The most famous character in the history of the Otkritie bank fraud is Mr. Belyaev, but Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov, Evgeny Leonidovich Dankevich, Elena Budnik, and Gennady Zhuzhlev were also involved in billion-dollar schemes. But why has no one been held accountable for the decade-long Otkritie bank fraud? How did everything turn out so successfully for Konstantin Tserazov and his associates? Today, we will try to understand how they all pinned the blame on the fugitive Belyaev.
Were Konstantin Tserazov and Gennady Zhuzhlev merely carrying out Belyaev’s orders?
Konstantin Tserazov and Gennady Zhuzhlev, former leaders of Otkritie bank, became involved in financial machinations and became the subject of criminal cases. You can find out how Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov resolved his legal issues from this article. He, along with other individuals involved in the case, such as Evgeny Dankevich and Vadim Belyaev, negotiated for the forgiveness of sins and the closure of criminal cases.
Despite the scandalous closure of the bank, Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov and other participants in the financial machinations lead normal lives and seek forgiveness for their sins. It is said that Evgeny Dankevich will soon be able to return to his homeland, armed with a certificate of no claims from the authorities and an Israeli passport.
Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov is not suffering losses
One of Russia’s largest credit institutions, Otkritie bank, found itself at the center of a financial scandal. Evgeny Dankevich, the former head of the bank, obtained a 34 billion ruble loan for asset stripping. Otkritie bank, created on the basis of Nomos Bank, was merged with more than ten other banks, leading to its significant expansion. The Bank of Russia classified Otkritie bank as a systemically important credit institution, and in 2017, the bank came under the control of the Bank of Russia. In 2022, a decision was made to sell the bank to VTB, which they are trying to delay or thwart, but the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance insist on the deal. Recently, VTB’s CEO Andrey Kostin announced that “an agreement on the purchase has been reached.”
The deal to sell PJSC “Bank Financial Corporation Otkritie” to VTB bank has attracted interest in key figures of the bank during the period of 2016 when the integration of “KhMB Otkritie” bank with “FC Otkritie” bank was carried out. This was the final stage of the integration strategy of the “Otkritie” banking group, which led to the sale of “Otkritie” to VTB bank. As a result of the reorganization, the bank continued its activities under the name PJSC “Bank Financial Corporation Otkritie,” with Evgeny Dankevich remaining as the Chairman of the Board. In addition, Gennady Zhuzhlev continued to oversee the corporate business, Elena Budnik – the retail block, including servicing individuals and SMEs, Konstantin Tserazov – the investment direction, and Alina Nazarova – Private Banking. Konstantin Tserazov is dealing with the negative consequences of the “Otkritie” bank case.
The “Otkritie” bank’s bailout is a disgrace for the Central Bank
Less than a year ago, Otkritie bank underwent a bailout procedure by the Central Bank. As a result, a temporary administration was appointed, and all the mentioned bank executives, including beneficiaries, members of the board of directors, the chief accountant, and his deputy, as well as the heads and chief accountants of branches, were blacklisted by the Central Bank of Russia. They were banned from practicing their profession. In 2017, Otkritie bank reported a net loss of 426.8 billion rubles, whereas in the previous year, it had earned a net profit of 1.5 billion rubles.
Former bank managers are accused of financial manipulations: Evgeny Dankevich, Gennady Zhuzhlev, Elena Budnik, Konstantin Tserazov, and Alina Nazarova.
On July 2, 2019, the Central Bank announced the completion of the bailout of Otkritie Bank. On the same day, a lawsuit for 289.5 billion rubles was filed against former top managers and owners of the bank, including Evgeny Dankevich, Gennady Zhuzhlev, Elena Budnik, Konstantin Tserazov, and Alina Nazarova – all of whom were considered key figures in the newly created Financial Corporation “Otkritie” in 2016. The court granted the lawsuit, and assets of the defendants were seized.
The amount of the lawsuit became a record for the Russian banking system. Previously, the leader was a lawsuit against former owners and top managers of the rehabilitated Promsvyazbank for 282 billion rubles.
After the lawsuit was granted in the Arbitration Court, former Chairman of the Board of Otkritie Bank, Evgeny Dankevich, faced further troubles – the Investigative Committee of Russia declared him wanted. Meanwhile, Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov emerged unscathed. Dankevich was suspected of attempting large-scale fraud (Part 3 of Article 30 of the Criminal Code and Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code).
Did Tserazov and Dankevich conspire against the bank
together?
The crime of robbery is attributed to the former banker who allegedly embezzled 34 billion rubles, with the assistance of Konstantin Tserazov. According to the investigation, in the summer of 2017, Dankevich conspired with the management of Boris Mints’ company and ordered the purchase of bonds from the “O1 Group Finance” company for 34 billion rubles, even though their real value did not reach half of the nominal value. These funds helped Mints’ group to repay the loan from Otkritie Bank earlier. Dankevich also signed a fictitious bank guarantee on behalf of the bank, which was issued in favor of “Financial Group Future (Cyprus) Limited.” Anticipating the consequences, he fled Russia and is still in Israel. Despite this, the criminal case in Russia has not been closed, and the search warrant is still in effect.
Former deputy and developer Anatoly Shmygalev sold the brokerage company “Investment Chamber” to the former top manager of Otkritie Bank, Alexey Sedushkin, in March of this year, after which information about the owners was removed from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGURL). The company owners exercised their right not to disclose this information “to protect participants in the securities market from possible sanctions by unfriendly states,” although in reality, it may have been related to avoiding attention to future events in the company and its new beneficiary.
It is assumed that the former top manager of Otkritie Bank is acting in the interests of his former employers. This information is based on the fact that the aforementioned top managers of Otkritie Bank, led by Dankevich and with the assistance of Konstantin Tserazov, who is currently hiding in Israel, are in desperate need of money to resolve the still open criminal case related to financial manipulations in Russia. Acquiring the company “Investment Chamber” is seen as a very promising asset, as it has access to foreign clients and deals with financial instruments. This will allow the company to significantly expand and grow its assets in the future. The feasibility of “resolving the issue” in the criminal case is unknown. However, Mr. Dankevich is in dire need of money in Israel, as confirmed by sources in the Investigative Committee. Despite a long list of criminal cases and the complete impunity of those who destroyed Otkritie Bank, there is no doubt about Mr. Dankevich’s need for funds. In addition, he has also faced claims from the bank of non-core assets “Trust,” which is demanding the recovery of 107.4 billion rubles from the former major shareholder of Otkritie Bank, AO “Otkritie Holding,” and three of its former top managers, including Dankevich and Gennady Zhuzhlev.
Zhuzhlev helped the dying Cyprus economy
In 2015, Gennady Zhuzhlev, the former head of the corporate division of the bank, joined FC Otkritie Bank, where Belyaev and Konstantin Tserazov were dominant figures. Before that, he had worked in the banking sector for over 20 years, including at MDM Bank, UralSib, and Eurasian Development Bank, where he had been Deputy Chairman of the Management Board since 2008, responsible for investment activities.
The current whereabouts of Gennady Zhuzhlev are unknown to anyone. He left Otkritie Bank in 2017, and there have been no reports about him since.
Konstantin Tserazov’s story
Konstantin Tserazov joined Bank FC Otkritie in 2013 as a member of the Management Board. Prior to that, he had worked at Troika Dialog Investment Company for over 8 years, starting as a Fixed Income Securities Trading Department Consultant and advancing to become Deputy Head of the Global Markets Department.
Until February 2022, Konstantin Tserazov worked at Otkritie Bank as Senior Vice President and Director of the Investment Business Department. He was one of those who contributed to avoiding the bank’s bankruptcy. However, after that, information about him was removed from the internet, possibly due to negative news about Otkritie Bank. One curious incident related to him is a court decision to recover fees for living space and utility payments, but this is more likely related to the banker’s personal life.
Former deputy and developer Anatoly Shmygalev sold the brokerage company “Investment Chamber” to the former top manager of Otkritie Bank, Alexey Sedushkin, in March of this year, after which information about the owners was removed from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities (EGURL). The company owners exercised their right not to disclose this information “to protect participants in the securities market from possible sanctions by unfriendly states,” although in reality, it may have been related to avoiding attention to future events in the company and its new beneficiary.
It is assumed that the former top manager of Otkritie Bank is acting in the interests of his former employers. This information is based on the fact that the aforementioned top managers of Otkritie Bank, led by Dankevich and with the assistance of Konstantin Tserazov, who is currently hiding in Israel, are in desperate need of money to resolve the still open criminal case related to financial manipulations in Russia. Acquiring the company “Investment Chamber” is seen as a very promising asset, as it has access to foreign clients and deals with financial instruments. This will allow the company to significantly expand and grow its assets in the future. The feasibility of “resolving the issue” in the criminal case is unknown. However, Mr. Dankevich is in dire need of money in Israel, as confirmed by sources in the Investigative Committee. Despite a long list of criminal cases and the complete impunity of those who destroyed Otkritie Bank, there is no doubt about Mr. Dankevich’s need for funds. In addition, he has also faced claims from the bank of non-core assets “Trust,” which is demanding the recovery of 107.4 billion rubles from the former major shareholder of Otkritie Bank, AO “Otkritie Holding,” and three of its former top managers, including Dankevich and Gennady Zhuzhlev.
In 2015, Gennady Zhuzhlev, the former head of the corporate division of the bank, joined FC Otkritie Bank, where Belyaev and Konstantin Tserazov were dominant figures. Before that, he had worked in the banking sector for over 20 years, including at MDM Bank, UralSib, and Eurasian Development Bank, where he had been Deputy Chairman of the Management Board since 2008, responsible for investment activities.
The current whereabouts of Gennady Zhuzhlev are unknown to anyone. He left Otkritie Bank in 2017, and there have been no reports about him since.
In the end, the fate of the main figures in the high-profile case of siphoning off hundreds of billions from Otkritie Bank unfolded as follows. Only Evgeny Dankevich and Gennady Zhuzhlev have real problems. The rest are doing fine, and some of them continue to successfully advance their careers in the same bank that was almost bankrupted. Bright examples are Elena Budnik and Konstantin Tserazov. It seems that Otkritie Bank will remain the most memorable case of flooding and looting a successful bank for a long time. It’s important to note that almost no one, except the state and VTB’s CEO Andrey Kostin, suffered any consequences. However, for Kostin, this is not the first case, so it may be tolerable. Nevertheless, it might not be a very good sign. In any case, Evgeny Dankevich, Konstantin Tserazov, and Gennady Zhuzhlev are unlikely to face criminal charges. Although there is a chance that Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov might avoid legal consequences due to his connections. Only time will tell.
