A major joint investigation by Eesti Ekspress, SourceMaterial, and OCCRP has revealed how Estonian citizens and businesses are deeply entangled in a notorious russian money laundering network utilized by the Kremlin, international arms dealers, and drug cartels. Here the breakdown 🧵 1/
Sanctions against russia have fueled a massive underground financial sector operating openly on Telegram. Journalists posing under a pseudonym as buyers wanting to ship sanctioned EU drones to russia easily found illicit service providers ready to move the cash. 2/ One underground broker directed the undercover journalists to use a low-profile Canadian financial intermediary called Grata Payments. On paper, Brazilian model Felipe Frascaroli (850k Instagram followers) marketed himself as its founder. But when questioned, he instantly wiped it from his bio 3/
Canadian business registries reveal that the man actually running Grata Payments behind the scenes is Estonian sworn advocate Aleksei Ratnikov. Ratnikov claimed the model's self-proclaimed title was a "surprise" stemming from old marketing talks, but his corporate footprint goes much deeper. 4/ From 2021 until its liquidation in 2024, Ratnikov sat on the board of a UK company named One Remit. His fellow director? Andrejs Bradens, a Latvian sanctioned by the US for international money laundering and supplying electronic components to the russian military industrial complex. 5/ Another One Remit shareholder, Elena Chirkinyan, was also sanctioned by the US in 2024. Together with Bradens and network leader George Rossi (a wanted ex-Russian banker), they ran TGR—a massive financial laundering machine exposed by the global police sting "Operation Destabilize." 6/ TGR didn't just wash money for the russian elite and state propaganda channels like Rossiya Segodnya; it also serviced cybercriminals and the Irish Kinahan cartel, which trafficked weapons and drugs. Ratnikov’s One Remit was openly advertised on the TGR Partners website as part of their network. 7/ When confronted by journalists, Ratnikov claimed complete innocence, arguing his identity was stolen. He states he merely applied for a job years ago, sent a passport copy, and only discovered he was placed on One Remit's board against his will after the company was already liquidated. 8/ Ratnikov also pointed out that Grata Payments is owned by Eva-Maria Kesner, the daughter of controversial Estonian businessman Kristian Kesner (whose past associates tie back to major organized crime trials and banking networks linked to russian state assets). 9/ The illicit Telegram network also instructed journalists to route payments through Somiks Group OÜ, an Estonian company owned by Dmitry Lobach—a russian citizen with an Estonian residence permit who actively travels between Tallinn and Moscow. 10/ Grata Payments relied on banking infrastructure from Lithuania-based Teslapay, founded by Estonian Heiki Murula. Murula also has past managerial ties to other entities advertised under the TGR umbrella, though he strongly denies any personal knowledge or direct connection 11/ When journalists checked back months later, the underground brokers admitted they regularly rotate companies and infrastructure to keep their tracks clean from Western regulators. 12/ The investigation underscores how Baltic corporate structures remain vulnerable nodes in russia’s shadow financial network. 13/end ekspress.delfi.ee
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