Viktor Zubkov Today, President Putin of Russia nominated <http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070912/78356339.html> Viktor Zubkov for the post of Prime Minister. The nomination raises the obvious question, who is he? According to his bio on the Rosfinmonitoring Website (www.kfm.ru <http://www.kfm.ru/> ), Viktor Zubkov has been the head of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service ("FFMS") since November 2001, when he established it. In addition, between 2001 and 2004, he was the First Deputy Minister of Finance for the Russian Federation. As the head of the FFMS, Zubkov is Russia's financial intelligence chief, and therefore head of his country's anti-money laundering ("AML <http://en.rian.ru/onlinenews/20041206/39774938.html> ") efforts. One of the first things Zubkov did when he assumed office was set-up a Financial <http://www.kpmg.com/NR/rdonlyres/01FB8135-2202-4B79-93B3-A3E938907075/0\ /8789.pdf> <http://www.kpmg.com/NR/rdonlyres/01FB8135-2202-4B79-93B3-A3E938907075/0\ /8789.pdf> Monitoring Committee <http://www.kpmg.com/NR/rdonlyres/01FB8135-2202-4B79-93B3-A3E938907075/0\ /8789.pdf> . He is also the Chairman <http://www.imolin.org/pdf/imolin/AMLCFT%20Newsletter,%20Issue%2016%20-%\ 20December%202006%20&%20January%202007%20%28IMoLIN%29.pdf> of the EurAsian Group on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing ("EAG <http://en.rian.ru/business/20041208/39775139.html> "), which he founded in December 2004. The EAG comprises representatives from Belarus, China, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Russia and Tajikistan. As a result of all of his AML efforts, Zubkov was able to get Russia removed <http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070321/62368121.html> from the FATF blacklist. In May 2007, the European Union appropriated 3.5 <http://www.kommersant.com/p-10776/Laundering_EU> <http://www.kommersant.com/p-10776/Laundering_EU> million Euros <http://www.kommersant.com/p-10776/Laundering_EU> for fighting money laundering in Russia.
Zubkov is the architect <http://en.rian.ru/business/20050530/40442042.html> of the revised Russian Federal Law No. <http://www.legislationline.org/legislation.php?tid=46&lid=6008> <http://www.legislationline.org/legislation.php?tid=46&lid=6008> 115 <http://www.legislationline.org/legislation.php?tid=46&lid=6008> , which criminalizes money laundering and terrorist financing. In May 2005, Zubkov proposed freezing accounts <http://en.rian.ru/business/20050530/40442042.html> that were suspected of being involved in money laundering. In March 2007, Zubkov proposed the establishment of cash transaction reports for sums in excess of 600,000 rubles <http://en.rian.ru/business/20070313/61911762.html> ($22,875). Not bad for a man who started his career in 1958 as a fitter <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-09/12/content_6713595.htm> at a local mechanical and repairs plant. After getting a degree in economics from the Leningrad State University, he held various posts between 1967 and 1989 in the agriculture sector of the Russian economy. However, it was in Leningrad in 1991 that he got his big break. Between 1991 and 1993, Zubkov was First Deputy Chief of the St. Petersburg Mayor's Office for External Relations. At that time, he became acquainted with now President Putin, who was head of the Committee for External Affairs for the Mayor of St. Petersburg. Thereafter, between 1993 and 1999, he was Deputy Minister of Taxes and Duties, as well as the head of the State Tax Inspectorate for St. Petersburg. During this time, he was also the boss of now Russian Federation Minister of Defense Anatoly <http://www.kommersant.com/p743268/Anatoly_Serdyukov> <http://www.kommersant.com/p743268/Anatoly_Serdyukov> Serdyukov <http://www.kommersant.com/p743268/Anatoly_Serdyukov> . Then, along with his old boss Vladimir Putin, he moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow, where between 1999 and 2001, he was the Deputy Chief of the Russian Tax Minister. Accordingly, it would be fair to say that Zubkov is the quintessential siloviki <http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070321/62368121.html> . Zubkov and the FFMS have been at the heart of the fight against money laundering in Russia. For example, in 2005 <http://en.rian.ru/business/20050530/40442042.html> , the FFMS received on average 12,000-14,000 reports a day related to money laundering, which in turn culminated in 680 reports on suspicious operations with a total value of $4 billion. As result, according to the Russian Interior <http://www.sic.gov.lb/_NewsLetter.php?Date=2006-10-28> <http://www.sic.gov.lb/_NewsLetter.php?Date=2006-10-28> Ministry <http://www.sic.gov.lb/_NewsLetter.php?Date=2006-10-28> , 7,500 money laundering cases were opened, and 6,400 criminal cases were initiated in 2005. These cases involved 1,300 people, including 22 cases against heads of Russian commercial banks. Consequently, in the first six months of 2006, 257 convictions have resulted out of these cases. Also in 2006, the FFMS sent Federal authorities 3,000 documents related to money laundering worth 1 trillion Rubles <http://www.kommersant.com/p-9913/Alexey_Frenkel> (approximately $30 billion). This in turn spawned 200 money <http://www.kommersant.com/p-10776/Laundering_EU> <http://www.kommersant.com/p-10776/Laundering_EU> laundering cases <http://www.kommersant.com/p-10776/Laundering_EU> , and the revocation by the Central Bank of Russia of 50 bank licenses. In 2005, Zubkov issued the revised terrorism financiers <http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050902/41282496.html> <http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050902/41282496.html> list <http://en.rian.ru/russia/20050902/41282496.html> . The list included as expected al-qaeda, the Taleban, but also the Muslim <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5223458.stm> <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5223458.stm> Brotherhood <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5223458.stm> . Its focus is clear, Islamic terrorism in and related to the Caucasus. Conspicuous by its absence, was any reference to the U.S. State and Treasury Department sanctioned Hamas or Hezbollah. That being said, in 2006, the Russian <http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/7/398cc38f-b2bd-49cc-9071-750\ 0302be628.html> <http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/7/398cc38f-b2bd-49cc-9071-750\ 0302be628.html> Supreme Court <http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/7/398cc38f-b2bd-49cc-9071-750\ 0302be628.html> affirmed the list of 17 identified terrorist organizations, even though it also omitted mention of Hamas or Hezbollah. However, Zubkov was not alone, the European Union resisted American calls to add Hezbollah <http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/060801183958.ypg0n0x4> to its list of terrorist organizations, and the European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana saw no problem with Russia inviting Hamas <http://ejpress.org/article/news/eu-israel_affairs/5863> to Moscow. If as many believe, this nomination by President Putin of Zubkov as Prime Minister is in fact the crowning of Putin's successor as President, then it is of no small import. In Zubkov, Russia will have the consummate bureaucrat and siloviki. A man who is guaranteed to complete the program that President Putin has started. <http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/09/viktor-zub\ kov.html <http://www.terrorfinance.org/the_terror_finance_blog/2007/09/viktor-zub\ kov.html> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? 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