Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions with varying definitions. It is usually a key operation of organized crime.
The economy of Russia has gradually transformed from a planned economy into a mixed market-oriented economy. It has enormous natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas. In 2023, it was the world's 11th-largest economy by nominal GDP, and 6th-largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) according to IMF, 5th-largest according to World Bank. Due to a volatile currency exchange rate, Russia's GDP as measured in dollars fluctuates sharply. Russia was the last major economy to join the WTO, becoming a member in 2012.
PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited is a multinational professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting firms, along with Deloitte, EY and KPMG.
Citibank, N. A. is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City Bank of New York. The bank has 2,649 branches in 19 countries, including 723 branches in the United States and 1,494 branches in Mexico operated by its subsidiary Banamex. The U.S. branches are concentrated in six metropolitan areas: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Miami.
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation. The ruble is subdivided into 100 kopecks. It is used in Russia as well as in the parts of Ukraine under Russian military occupation and in Russian-occupied parts of Georgia.
Deutsche Bank AG, sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, or internally as DB, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
PJSC Sberbank is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services company headquartered in Moscow. It was called Sberbank of Russia until 2015. Sberbank has operations in several European nations, primarily post-Soviet countries.
Alfa-Bank JSC is the largest of the private banks in Russia. It was founded in 1990 by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, who remains the controlling owner. Headquartered in Moscow, it operates in seven countries, providing financial services to 22 million active corporate customers and over 1 million active retail clients as of 2021. On 1 March 2022, Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven left the bank's board of directors after coming under EU sanctions imposed in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. For the same reason, the bank has been sanctioned by US and EU authorities beginning in February 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation, doing business as the Bank of Russia, is the central bank of the Russian Federation. The bank was established on July 13, 1990. The predecessor of the bank can be traced back to the State Bank of the Russian Empire founded in 1860.
UniCredit S.p.A. is an international banking group headquartered in Milan. It is Italy's only systemically important bank and the world's 34th largest by assets. It was formed through the merger of Credito Italiano and Unicredito in 1998 but has a corporate identity stretching back to its first foundation in 1870 as Banca di Genova. UniCredit is listed on the Milan and Frankfurt stock exchanges and is a constituent stock of the Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading shares.
Nohum Shtif, was a Jewish linguist, literary historian, publisher, translator, and philologist of the Yiddish language and social activist. In his early years he wrote under the pen name Baal Dimion.
VTB Bank is a Russian majority state-owned bank headquartered in various federal districts of Russia; its legal address is registered in St. Petersburg; as of 2022 company's capital stock was mostly owned by three Russian agencies.
Sberbank CIB is a multinational investment banking and asset management firm headquartered in Moscow, Russia, and a subsidiary of Sberbank. It was founded in Moscow in 1991, and was formerly known as Troika Dialog.
The kalyuka is a Russian and Ukrainian overtone flute, lacking playing holes. Traditionally, kalyukas were made from hollow plant stems, such as motherwort, or angelica. Modern versions of the instrument are usually made from PVC, an inexpensive and durable substitute.
BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Originally identified to highlight investment opportunities, the grouping evolved into a cohesive geopolitical bloc, with their governments meeting annually at formal summits and coordinating multilateral policies since 2009. Bilateral relations among BRICS are conducted mainly on the basis of non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit.
VTB Capital is a Russian investment bank. It is one of the three strategic business arms of VTB Group, along with the corporate and retail businesses.
The Jewish Socialist Workers Party, often nicknamed Seymists, was a Jewish socialist political party in the Russian Empire. The party was founded in April 1906, emerging out of the Vozrozhdenie (Renaissance) circles. The Vozrozhdenie was a non-Marxist tendency which was led by the nonmarxist thinker and politician Chaim Zhitlowsky. Zhitlowsky became the theoretician of the new party that advocated with the same emphasis Jewish self-reliance and socialism. Leaders of the party included Avrom Rozin (Ben-Adir), Nokhem Shtif, Moyshe Zilberfarb and Mark Ratner. The party was close to the Socialist-Revolutionary Party (PSR).
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is an Austrian banking group and a central institution of the Raiffeisen Banking Group Austria (RBG). The bank is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, with RBG's regional banks its major shareholders.
International sanctions have been imposed against Russia and Crimea during the Russo-Ukrainian War by a large number of countries, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, and international organisations following the Russian annexation of Crimea, which began in late February 2014. Belarus has also been sanctioned for its cooperation with and assistance to Russian armed forces. The sanctions were imposed against individuals, businesses, and officials from Russia and Ukraine. Russia responded with sanctions against several countries, including a total ban on food imports from Australia, Canada, Norway, Japan, the United States, the EU and the United Kingdom.
Donald Trump has pursued business deals in Russia since 1987, and has repeatedly traveled there to explore potential business opportunities. In 1996, Trump trademark applications were submitted for potential Russian real estate development deals. Trump, his children, and his partners have repeatedly visited Russia, connecting with real estate developers and Russian government officials to explore joint venture opportunities. Trump was never able to successfully conclude any real estate deals in Russia. However, individual Russians have invested heavily in Trump properties, and, following Trump's bankruptcies in the 1990s, he borrowed money from Russian sources. Both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have said that Russia was an important source of money for the Trump businesses.
US$ 269.9 million (2010) [1] 
US$ 5.7 billion (2010) [1]