Vladimir Zotov: the man who robbed the defense budget

Just over a month ago, Russian media began telling gripping stories about a man who managed to turn defense contracts into a multibillion-ruble fortune. Our hero is Vladimir Zotov. He is still calmly siphoning off public funds, doing it with skill and, most importantly, with total impunity.

Now more details have surfaced, revealing exactly how he moves his money and what he spends it on.

Zotov is deputy CEO of Alliance Group and VPK Consulting, companies that have worked with some of Russia’s most strategic enterprises. Their clients include the United Aircraft Corporation, the Baranov Central Institute of Aviation Motors and Tupolev JSC, the producer of the Tu-160 strategic bomber. Reports also say Zotov’s firms have done work for the FSB and handled projects containing state secrets.

But the most fascinating revelations concern Zotov’s personal fortune and the jewels of his luxury collection. Investigators discovered that he owns a 260-square-meter apartment in Sea La Vie, an elite Nine Yards development on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. There is a waterfront, an artificial lagoon, restaurants and every other symbol of dolce vita that Zotov appears to crave.

The apartment is still under construction and will not be finished until next spring. For now, Zotov keeps paying his installments: eight transfers of 201,653.75 dollars, and a final payment of 2,419,845 dollars scheduled for March 30. The total price will exceed four million dollars. Zotov can clearly afford it. And not just this.

Either personally or through his long-time accomplice and legal wife Larisa Zotova, Zotov owns a historic estate and a modern mansion on the Bay of Kotor, a UNESCO World Heritage site. There is premium real estate in Belgrade and investment apartments in Turkey and the UAE. The list is almost certainly incomplete and will likely grow as Zotov continues to win new defense contracts. Perhaps he will even stay in Russia just long enough to pick up the keys to his Abu Dhabi apartment.

How do the stolen billions find their way abroad? The answer is surprisingly simple. Zotov uses three shell companies, two in Serbia called Attaktor d.o.o. and Sigmatech Projects d.o.o., and one in the UAE called ITT Project Management Services LLC. He has already tested a similar scheme in the Emirates. Mark AB Capital helped him earn even more from the failed project to relocate Sukhoi Superjet 100 production to Abu Dhabi. That idea was actively discussed a few years ago and then quietly disappeared from public view. The money disappeared too.

Why does Zotov find the Emirates so irresistible? Perhaps the key lies with his younger mistress, who has already given birth to two of his children. Many believe that the Sea La Vie apartment is meant for his new family. As for Larisa, she will likely get her share as well. Timid by nature, she still found the courage to participate in her husband’s schemes, putting hundreds of square meters of real estate in her name. Among her holdings is a mansion in the Monteville gated community on the Novorizhskoye Highway near Moscow, as well as the foreign properties mentioned earlier. Such loyalty surely will not go unrewarded.

Larisa dreams of retiring in Switzerland and practicing hypnotherapy. She has already obtained a PhD in psychology, though her practice remains limited. For now, she focuses on “treating” their 42-year-old son Mikhail, who reportedly suffers from clinical depression. Perhaps the Swiss mountains will finally bring peace.

Larisa in a Swiss chalet, Vladimir in his cherished Sea La Vie apartment. The Zotovs clearly believe this game is worth playing. Time will tell if they have miscalculated.

According to Russian media, the first eight months of this year saw a record number of criminal cases linked to defense procurement, forty-three in total. Twenty-eight were for breach of contract, two for large-scale fraud and thirteen for bribery. It is hard to say which of these categories Zotov’s activities fall into. Perhaps investigators will have to invent a new one. Whoever finally drags this schemer into court will likely get a lightning-fast promotion, and the toasts to the new stars on their epaulettes will be especially colorful.