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Man sentenced to nearly 4 years for illegal $150M Russian money transfers

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  October 2, 2024 7:16pm EDT
Buford
FOX 5 Atlanta

 

    • Feliks Medvedev was sentenced to almost 4 years in prison for running an illegal business that transmitted over $150 million in Russian funds.
    • He registered eight companies in Georgia that were used for money transfers without engaging in typical business operations or employing staff.
    • Medvedev collaborated with Russian individuals and was involved with a sanctioned Russian company, KSK Group, in executing the transactions.
    • He pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted, with the FBI and Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security leading the investigation.
    • The case fell under the purview of Task Force KleptoCapture, which aims to enforce sanctions and economic measures against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

ATLANTA - Feliks Medvedev, 43, of Buford was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that transferred more than $150 million in Russian funds. Medvedev was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and will serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. 

Court documents revealed that Medvedev, a Russian citizen residing in North Georgia, registered eight companies in the state to conduct the illicit transfers. These companies, which were allegedly headquartered in Buford and Dacula, Georgia, did not incur typical business expenses nor employ staff. Through these businesses, Medvedev conducted over 1,300 transactions and transferred millions of dollars from U.S. bank accounts overseas, including more than $65 million used to purchase gold bullion abroad. 

Medvedev worked with a Russian company and was directed by several Russian nationals to carry out illegal transfers. Two of his alleged co-conspirators, Russian national Alexey Chubarov and his company KSK Group, were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Sept. 14, 2023, under Executive Order 14024. Earlier this year, on Feb. 13, Chubarov, KSK Group, and another Russian national, Lev Solyannikov, were indicted in the Northern District of Georgia for conspiring with Medvedev. 

Medvedev pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted on Feb. 7. 

The FBI and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security led the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Huber and Norman L. Barnett for the Northern District of Georgia. 

This investigation was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, a multi-agency task force formed to enforce sanctions, export controls, and economic measures in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Task Force KleptoCapture, announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland on March 2, 2022, is part of a broader effort to counter efforts aimed at evading U.S. sanctions and undermining actions taken against Russian military aggression. 

Source: 

  • United States Department of Justice press release