Alexey Kuznetsov is a former official of the Moscow Region Government, in which he headed the Ministry of Finance for eight years (2000-2008). After the resignation, he left Russia, and soon became a defendant in a number of criminal cases related to fraud and embezzlement. Since 2013, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office sought the extradition of Kuznetsov by the French authorities, where the former minister was hiding from justice. Finally, in early 2019 he was extradited to his homeland.
Education, career success, personal life
The biography of Alexei Viktorovich Kuznetsov dates back to November 6, 1962 in Moscow, where he was born and raised. Received higher education at the Moscow Financial Institute, specialty "Finance and Credit". Soon after receiving a diploma - in October 1985 - he got a job at the USSR State Bank. Kuznetsov worked in the main computer center of the bank as an engineer.
In January 1990, he transferred to Inkombank. Having started his career as a senior economist, the young specialist rapidly advanced in the service and since 1992 held senior positions in the bank’s board, and in 1994 became his vice president. The first corruption scandal, which featured the name of Kuznetsov, dates back to the mid-90s. Foreign depositors accused the leadership of Inkombank of stealing the funds of depositors and transferring them to offshore. The case involved the Avalon Capital firm, which was headed by American Jeanne Bullock.
This woman played an important role in the personal life of Kuznetsov. For her sake, he left his first wife, with whom he raised three sons. The second wife very quickly became the main assistant to Alexei Viktorovich and a loyal business partner. In addition, Jeanne gave him the long-awaited daughter, who was named Eugenia. The girl has long been living with her mother in the United States.
The proceedings with Inkombank depositors gradually subsided after its bankruptcy in 1999. Shortly before this, against the background of default and huge losses amounting to billions of rubles, Inkombank lost its license. And even earlier, in early 1998, Kuznetsov wrote a letter of resignation, refusing to engage in foreign promotion of the bank. Of course, he did not remain without work and managed to show his career talents in several directions:
- President and founder of the Russian Investment Society, engaged in the bankruptcy of large companies;
- General Director of Standard MTK;
- founder of the company "Fintechkom".
At the beginning of the 2000s, all these projects faded into the background, since Kuznetsov received an offer to join the Moscow Region Government.
Minister of Finance of the Moscow Region
Officially Mikhail Babich introduced Kuznetsov to Boris Gromov, who was recently elected governor of the capital region. In June 2000, Alexei Viktorovich headed the regional ministry of finance, and in 2004 was appointed deputy prime minister in the regional government.
While her husband was in the public service, the family business was run by Jeanne Bullock. Her companies engaged in real estate transactions in the United States, as well as construction in the Moscow region. Meanwhile, in 2003, Kuznetsov secretly acquired American citizenship, although he later denied this fact. He left the post of Minister of Finance in the summer of 2008 "for family reasons." And very soon went to his wife in the United States.
Criminal proceedings
Already in August, the corruption scandal began to gain momentum, associated with huge debts of the Moscow region government. Kuznetsov was accused of abuse of office. According to investigators, he allocated building plots to his wife’s company, and as a result of the illegal transfer of land into private property, he caused damage to the state in the billions of dollars. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the former official. In autumn 2008, he was put on the international wanted list.
Other episodes of criminal cases involving Alexei Kuznetsov:
- embezzlement of three billion rubles through Moscow Regional Investment Trust Company (MOITK);
- financial fraud, as a result of which MOITK lost the right to dispose of the property of the capital region;
- illegal granting of loans by budget funds, which led to the bankruptcy of MOITK.
Kuznetsov and his wife rejected all charges, referring to the machinations of competitors. Meanwhile, his accomplices involved in fraudulent schemes were arrested: former deputy official in the Ministry of Finance Valery Nosov and former director of MOITK Vladislav Telepnev. They were sentenced to almost 15 and 10 years, respectively. An absentee trial took place over Zhanna Bullock. She was sentenced to 11 years in a general regime prison, but for now, the woman continues to be on the international wanted list.
After the criminal prosecution of Kuznetsov began in 2014, the Investigative Committee discovered a hangar in St. Petersburg, which contained the treasures of the former official and his wife. A collection of paintings, antiques, furniture, rare books, according to rough estimates, was estimated at $ 50 million. This collection was waiting to be shipped to the United States in the name of Jeanne Bullock. The works of art were seized and sent to the Hermitage for storage.
