Last month, we found out (video with english subs) that the family of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin owns luxury property worth millions of dollars, and part of it was acquired with the help of Alexander Udodov, a suspected tax fraudster. Udodov was recently asked about our investigation, and his answer shocked us: he admitted that he has been married to Mishustin’s sister Natalia Stenina since 2008.

Let that sink in for a moment. The brother-in-law of the former head of Federal Tax Service is a suspected criminal known for his fraudulent schemes involving VAT refunds. But it gets even worse than that. In 2009, Udodov purchased a total of 6 apartments in the residential complex on 20 Pine Street in New York. Thus, we can add five more millions to the undeclared income of the prime minister’s family.

However, the most important part of this story is that this building is directly connected to the infamous «Magnitsky case». Tax advisor Sergei Magnitsky discovered that a total of $230 million of previously paid taxes were fraudulently reclaimed by a criminal group with the assistance of tax officials. He was arrested soon after exposing the scheme and died in prison, presumably from tortures. Some of the stolen money was received by Denis Katsyv, son of the former vice president of Russian Railways, who used it to purchase 5 apartments in the same building as Udodov. Moreover, Udodov purchased his first 5 apartments just 3 weeks after Katsyv.

Being good friends with a tax fraudster is one thing, but being his brother-in-law takes it to a whole new level. We have a lot of very unpleasant questions for you, Mr. Mishustin!

Our full investigation with all evidence can be found here.