Secret offshore “wallets” of Russian Chess Federation head Andrey Filatov

Secret offshore “wallets” of Russian Chess Federation head Andrey Filatov

20 апреля 2025

Сергей Варченко

To the public, Filatov, who became a Russian billionaire in recent years, has maintained an overwhelmingly positive reputation since 2014. He advocates for the interests of Russian chess players internationally, organizes frequent tournaments across the country, supports children’s sports, collects Russian art, and promotes it abroad. To many, he appears as a pure figure, almost like an angel in white, rather than a person.

However, behind this beautiful facade hides a greedy businessman and an aide of the Russian authorities, who sold his homeland, Ukraine, for money. Filatov was born in Kryvyi Rih, which became known worldwide after the regular bombings by the Russian armed forces. Since 2001, Andrey Filatov held an annual tournament in Dnipropetrovsk in memory of his first coach Alexander Sinitsyn. Apparently, money erased these memories, and now Filatov is under Ukrainian sanctions for supporting the full-scale conflict in Ukraine.

However, no one suspects how closely the honored chess coach and sports official is connected with Vladimir Putin’s close circle. To understand this, it’s enough to look at the header of the Russian Chess Federation’s website. Alongside tournament announcements, you can see the logos of organizations that support the federation.

The closest friend of the president, Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko and his wife Elena, are big chess enthusiasts, for which they received the "Russian Chess Federation’s Gold Badge." Russian kids participating in the "Chess in Schools" project have no idea how much blood is on Timchenko’s hands, who is the ultimate beneficiary of the Kalashnikov concern, a weapons manufacturer.

“PhosAgro,” Russia’s largest fertilizer producer, belongs to pro-Kremlin oligarch Andrey Guryev, whose son holds the position of vice president of the Russian Chess Federation along with the State Duma Deputy Speaker Alexander Zhukov and Senator Natalia Komarova, the former governor of KhMAO. Both have repeatedly been involved in various corruption scandals reported by the media. An impeccable reputation is certainly not about the leadership of the Russian Chess Federation.

Another vice-president of the Russian Chess Federation is the General Director of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI France Russie) Pavel Shinsky. The chairman of its economic council is Gennady Timchenko, and a council member is Andrey Filatov. The organization still operates, as evidenced by the briefings it holds. The latest was held on March 25. It’s very interesting what the French discuss with Shinsky, who sits in the Russian Chess Federation alongside explicit supporters of the Special Military Operation, Timchenko, and Filatov, and whether Emmanuel Macron knows about this.

“Fonbet” was founded in 1994 by grandmaster Anatoly Machulsky, and now it is owned by a front man, Maxim Kuznetsov. The company is registered in Serpukhov (Moscow region), which is considered the domain of businessman with a criminal past Umar Kremlev, a drop for the head of the FSB for the President of Russia, Alexey Rubezhnoy. Chess, crime, and intelligence services in Russia march in step.

Andrey Filatov is the founder of four companies: “Volga Development,” “Volga Development Agro,” IG “Tuloma,” and LLC “Falcon.” Shareholders of the first, besides Andrey Filatov, include the Cypriot Tilden Enterprises Limited, Konstantin Nikolaev, and Nikita Mishin, former partners of Filatov in Globaltrans.

Tilden Enterprises Limited is also a co-founder of “Volga Development Agro” and was a shareholder of LLC “Yunistad” until 2023, which is registered in Nizhny Novgorod and engaged in the production of profiles through cold stamping or bending. Another co-founder of this company is the Austrian Bollwerk Finanzierungs-Und Industriemanagement AG. The third shareholder was LLC "Motor-Invest," owned by Viktor and Maxim Klochai.

LLC “Motor-Invest” is purely a technical structure for money withdrawal with 1 employee on the staff but 20 subsidiary companies. In 2024, the company, which never had revenue, incurred a loss of 1.2 billion rubles, although the year before it had a profit of 1.6 billion rubles.

Some “subsidiaries” of LLC “Motor-Invest” were making good money, which later flowed into offshore accounts. JSC “Ruspolimet” earned 10 billion rubles in revenue and 268 million in profit in 2018, LLC “Grankom” made 921 million in revenue and 12 million rubles in profit in 2021. Since then, these companies have not published their financials, but they are clearly in the red.

Such a conclusion can be drawn from another “subsidiary,” LLC “Uzolskye Klyuchi,” which had a profit from 2019 to 2022, but incurred losses in 2023-2024. It’s not surprising that some companies do not disclose their financial indicators in open sources. It’s a pity, as it would be possible to calculate how much Andrey Filatov has transferred offshore.

Among the “subsidiaries” daring to publish their performance results for 2024, LLC “NPP Transkuzmash,” which has operated without profit for the last three years, recorded losses of 33 million rubles in 2024. LLC “Podvorye” has had no profit since 2018, while LLC “Activ” has been in the red for three years. Most “subsidiaries” of Ltd. “Motor-Invest” are typical “shells” for withdrawing money.

LLC “Volga Development Agro” is such an obscure structure with 1 employee on staff and the same founders as LLC “Volga Development.” Meanwhile, LLC “IK Tuloma” is where Andrey Filatov has accumulated his stakes from various assets. This company is his main “wallet” with 2024 revenue of 1.4 billion rubles and profit of 987 million rubles.

All active “subsidiaries” of LLC “IK Tuloma,” apart from LLC “Investservice,” operate profitably, but there is one company through which funds are drained— LLC “Investment and Construction Company Finist” with one employee on staff and zero revenue and profit for several years. It includes the founders “Synde Pears Holdings Limited” and “Wilks Investments Limited,” both offshore entities.

Everything in Andrey Filatov’s business is as they like in Russia. The business-chess player now plays complex business combinations for the Russian authorities using offshore schemes. It is impossible to trace the sponsors of the Russian Chess Federation in open sources. Money from large Russian companies may flow into “left” structures and then offshore. Meanwhile, the remaining crumbs fund chess tournaments. Oligarchs are satisfied, while children are happy. Thanks to Gennady Timchenko’s support, Filatov’s “games” are all winning.