Banker-magician Tserazov: through hardships to the stars?

15 мая 2026 г.

Konstantin Tserazov, former Senior Vice President of Otkritie Bank, and his associate Vadim Volfson (also known as Belyaev) have been linked in reports to the alleged withdrawal of billions from the bank. Some accounts further claim that these activities occurred amid alleged inaction from senior financial regulators, including Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina.

Despite ongoing court proceedings and criticism of investigative bodies, Belyaev-Volfson reportedly relocated first to London and later to New York. Tserazov, who obtained Moldovan citizenship in 2020, is said in some reports to currently reside in Israel.

The entire story of the “sinking” of Otkritie Bank brings to mind the events surrounding the once “unsinkable” British transatlantic liner Titanic. No one believed that an Olympic-class ship could sink.

Otkritie Bank was a kind of “Titanic.” In 2013, Konstantin Vladimirovich Tserazov, a former high-ranking employee of Troika Dialog Investment Company (now Sberbank CIB), appeared in the banking ranks.

This advanced financial genius acted boldly but quietly: within a few years, Otkritie Bank burst. Initially, Konstantin Tserazov was on the list of debtors — bank owners and top managers who were supposed to cover multibillion-dollar losses — but in the second version of this blacklist, Tserazov disappeared completely.

The founder of the Otkritie group, Vadim Belyaev, also quickly vanished from Russia. Only after all these events did investigators turn their attention to several offshore entities through which banking billions were drained. There were several such companies, including the OX+ group, Atesolia Investments Ltd, Metriliano Investments Ltd, and others.

250,000 euros for a new passport

It is not entirely clear why, after the extremely unpleasant events at Otkritie Bank, Konstantin Tserazov headed specifically for Chisinau.

However, it is quite possible that the issue was the right price for acquiring new citizenship. At that time — in 2020 — a passport of the Republic of Moldova under the “Citizenship by Investment” program could be obtained for as little as 100,000 euros in the general queue, or 250,000 euros under certain other conditions.

On December 15, 2020, President of the Republic of Moldova Igor Dodon signed a decree granting citizenship to Konstantin Tserazov, former Senior Vice President of Otkritie Bank.

This was preceded by a meeting between Igor Dodon and the head of the National Bank of Moldova, Octavian Armasu, where issues of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund were discussed. Dodon considered the establishment of a stable banking system in Moldova extremely important.

It appears that this was precisely why the disgraced Russian banker Tserazov was granted Moldovan citizenship.

This was reported by TV 8.md.

The program for obtaining citizenship in exchange for investment was approved in 2018. Information about the “golden passport” granted to Tserazov was hidden for more than four years but was eventually uncovered by investigative journalists from Cutia Neagră PLUS.

The banker’s wife and two minor children also received Moldovan citizenship.

Cypriot offshores

Recall that in 2017, Otkritie Bank found itself on the brink of bankruptcy due to fraud.

In mid-2019, the Central Bank of Russia demanded through the Moscow Arbitration Court the recovery of 289 billion rubles from the owners and managers of Otkritie Bank. Konstantin Tserazov was among the debtors.

By court decision, all bank managers were obliged to return the money to the state, but Tserazov’s name suddenly disappeared from the ruling.

Thus, Mr. Tserazov could have become a defendant in a criminal case as early as 2019, but he miraculously avoided criminal prosecution.

How exactly did banker Tserazov slip away from the investigation? With whom did the newly minted “Moldovan” share so generously?

Konstantin Tserazov joined Otkritie Bank in 2013 and managed to build a successful career there. In addition to the position of Senior Vice President, he headed the investment block and was also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Otkritie Broker.

The company’s founders included Vadim and Irina Belyaev (Vadim Belyaev — founder of the Otkritie group), several individuals, and offshore companies.

It was through these offshore entities that millions were withdrawn from Otkritie Bank.

As head of the investment direction, Mr. Tserazov could channel millions through the bank’s subsidiaries.

With the consent and under the leadership of Vadim Belyaev (later Volfson), a complex scheme involving dozens of offshore companies was implemented to conceal the origin of large sums withdrawn under the guise of issued loans.

The scheme involved two groups of companies from the unofficial perimeter of the Otkritie holding: the OX+ group, which included 26 companies. All of them operated in the interests of Vadim Belyaev, Konstantin Tserazov, and other top managers. A group of 125 firms handled the money transit.

One example is a 39 billion ruble loan from Trust Bank (Otkritie Capital) supposedly for the purchase of securities. The money passed through 83 transactions, and 22 billion rubles settled in the accounts of Atesolia.

Atesolia Investments Ltd is a Cypriot company that was very closely linked to the Otkritie holding. Belyaev, the founder and shareholder of the holding, reduced his ownership stake through this company.

Meanwhile, Mr. Tserazov was busy obtaining Moldovan citizenship.

The owner of the company was Mr. Belyaev, but Vadim Belyaev retained indirect ownership through Atesolia Investments Ltd (12.9% of shares), Metriliano Investments Ltd (6%), and LLC Perspektiva (4.8%).

As of 2018, other major shareholders of Otkritie Holding JSC included Reserve Invest Holding (Cyprus) Limited (9.8% voting shares), Accles Holdings Limited (11.58%), Velinio Holdings Limited (9.99%), and Gatecraft Limited (7.99%).

On the Russian side, the companies involved included LLC Tamozhennaya Karta, which has been operating since 2000 and specializes in software development and consulting. The company suffered a loss of 1.9 billion rubles in 2020 and changed its founder.

Another participant was LLC UK Navigator, operating since 2002. In 2017, it recorded a loss of 42 million rubles and is involved in 335 arbitration cases totaling 24 billion rubles.

LLC Management Consulting, also part of the schemes, suffered a 73 million ruble loss in 2017. Its founders were LLC Management-Holding and Otkritie FC Bank.

The owner of LLC Management-Holding is once again an offshore entity — Abbicart Limited (Cyprus).

Such were the schemes at Otkritie Bank.

Otkritie Bank ceased to exist in January 2025. Later, these schemes became clear to law enforcement agencies. But why did Mr. Tserazov avoid a criminal case?

It is possible that he was saved by the patronage of Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina. As the media wrote, Ms. Nabiullina had special relations with the founder of the Otkritie group, Vadim Belyaev.

Another interesting detail: Konstantin Tserazov joined Otkritie Bank in the same year that Elvira Nabiullina took the post of Central Bank Governor.

In 2018, Mikhail Zadornov became president of Otkritie Bank and immediately announced that he would replace the entire team of the bank, which had been placed under Central Bank resolution. However, Tserazov suddenly ended up as Senior Vice President.

Severe court battles

Tserazov began to face trouble: the Central Bank added his name to the blacklist and banned him from banking activities. Tserazov left the bank and disappeared.

But not completely.

Numerous court cases emerged involving Mr. Tserazov against his wife Olga Tserazova, as well as against the British company Private Limited Company Refinitiv Limited (a major provider of data and infrastructure solutions for financial markets, now part of the London Stock Exchange Group).

In these cases, Mr. Tserazov acted as the plaintiff, fighting for his honor, dignity, and business reputation, but soon dropped the lawsuits.

Court battles with his wife lasted several years, with Mr. Tserazov filing claims multiple times demanding certain payments from her (most likely his ex-wife).

At the same time, Olga Vladimirovna Tserazova sued LLC Vsevolozhsky (formerly LLC Pokrovsky) over poor-quality housing construction — walls in the house froze through.

The management company LLC UK Pokrovskaya also had claims against the Tserazov couple for long-term non-payment of utilities and housing maintenance fees.

Today, according to rumors, Mr. Tserazov is in Israel — just in case, to avoid being grabbed like Timur Ivanov or Vadim Moshkovich. A Moldovan passport apparently gives him some sense of security.

His former accomplice Belyaev-Volfson has been on the international wanted list since 2024. In February 2024, Vadim Belyaev-Volfson and his partner Gennon Bond were arrested in the United States for allegedly helping VTB Chairman Andrey Kostin circumvent sanctions. They were later released on their own recognizance.

Mr. Volfson also holds an Israeli passport.

However, even in the Promised Land, it is getting crowded — as evidenced by Anatoly Chubais, who fled there several years ago.