How Major Russian Collectors Evaded Sanctions Through Uzbekistan

A new investigation by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reveals how a company in Uzbekistan has helped wealthy Russians transfer artworks worth over $30 million to Russia over the past two years. Among the owners of these artworks are two individuals: Makertich Okrouyan, the owner of a company that plays a significant role in the production of Russian missiles, and Alexey Repik, who is involved in construction in the occupied city of Mariupol, Ukraine; both are under Western sanctions. At the beginning of last year, a package containing paintings, engravings, and several sculptures was transferred from the yacht 'Triple Sun' to Amsterdam Airport. The 67-meter yacht 'Triple Sun' was sailing under the flag of the Cayman Islands and belonged to 'Newton Limited', a company registered in the British Virgin Islands; this company paid for the transfer of these artworks. 'Newton Limited' came under investigative scrutiny following the Panama Papers leak, revealing that Alexey Repik is the owner of this company. This Russian businessman owns a pharmaceutical company and a large construction firm that has secured significant contracts for the reconstruction of Mariupol, a port city that has come under Russian occupation after months of conflict with the Ukrainian army. The company also owns a private jet with the registration number M-FINE, which was previously seen carrying Katerina Tikhonova, Vladimir Putin's younger daughter. Konstantin Akinshe, an art critic, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Alexey Repik is not an influential figure in the Russian art community but rather 'a tasteless and clueless collector who is primarily interested in collecting decorative elephants.' One of these elephants – a decorative vase worth about $35,000, created by French artist and sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle – was seen in images posted by Polina Repik, Alexey's wife, on her Instagram. Vases, inkstands, and numerous candlesticks shaped like elephants were among the artworks transferred by the yacht 'Triple Sun' to Amsterdam two years ago. Alongside them were paintings by Salvador Dalí, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Henri Matisse, as well as sculptures by Rembrandt Bugatti and Fernando Botero, totaling 44 artworks valued at over $4.5 million. These artworks were sent from Amsterdam Airport to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and three days later were delivered to their owner Alexey Repik in Moscow through the mediation of 'Beck Broker'. The Dutch company responsible for transporting these artworks told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that neither Moscow was mentioned as the final destination in the shipment documents nor was Repik's name listed as the owner of these artworks. Alexey Repik is under sanctions from the UK, Canada, and Australia. His yacht is currently anchored in Turkish waters, and his wife continues to post photos of the yacht on her Instagram, despite claiming to reporters that it was sold three years ago. He also claimed that the collection of artworks was donated to a museum in Russia but refused to disclose the name of the museum. According to 'Sistema', the Russian-language investigative section of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, customs documents indicate that Makertich Okrouyan was another client of 'Beck Broker' and used it to transfer his art collection to Russia. Okrouyan is the founder and director of a company that produces cruise missile engines and helicopter parts and is contracted with the Russian Ministry of Defense to supply weapons needed by the Russian army in Ukraine. Last winter, Alexey Navalny's headquarters reported that the Okrouyan family owned a three-story villa in West London worth over £10 million even after the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine. This report prompted Okrouyan to act, and before sanctions were imposed and his property could be seized, he entrusted 'Beck Broker' to transfer his collection of paintings valued at a total of $286,000 from London to Tashkent and from there to Moscow. The transfer of paintings by Pyotr Konchalovsky, Zinaida Serebryakova, Grigory Gluckman, Sergei Sudeykin, and Philip Maliavin – Russian artists who lived in France in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – took less than three weeks from London to Moscow. A few months later, Okrouyan and his relatives (who also hold British citizenship) were placed under sanctions by the US, UK, and EU. The transportation company 'Beck Broker' has been operating for over 25 years and had been transferring cargo for its clients in Russia (including the Lukoil company) even before the war against Ukraine. The company even established an office in Moscow, although it has not had any significant activities. Between 2018 and 2022, the company transferred at least 8,200 shipments from Russia to Uzbekistan and 106 shipments from Uzbekistan to Russia, with a total value of about $1.5 million. However, after the onset of the war against Ukraine, the origin and destination changed dramatically, and over the past two and a half years, 61 shipments have been sent from Russia to Uzbekistan and 1,962 shipments from Uzbekistan to Russia, valued at over $41.5 million. According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the majority of the shipments sent to Russia have been artworks, and of the total $41.5 million in transactions, the value of the art shipments is reported to be $36.5 million. After the onset of the war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the US, EU, Switzerland, and other allies declared a ban on the transfer of luxury goods (including artworks and antiques) valued over €300. These restrictions have had a significant impact on the global art market, and wealthy Russians, who were previously major clients of auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's, have been barred from continuing to buy and sell artworks. Reports indicate that the trade of artworks within Russia exceeded $25 million in 2023, growing by over 125%. Simultaneously with the imposition of restrictions on the transfer of artworks to Russia, many properties belonging to wealthy Russians linked to the Kremlin have been seized. For example, in the autumn of 2022, 30 paintings and four Fabergé eggs were seized from the villa and yacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, and a few months later, a collection of artworks belonging to former Russian senator Farhad Akhmedov was confiscated in Germany. Alex Przanti, a British lawyer, explained in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that if the sender of the artworks was aware that the destination of these artworks was Russia, even if they were initially sent to a third country like Uzbekistan, they would have committed a criminal offense, but it must first be proven that these legal or natural persons were aware of the final recipients of these shipments. Alexey Repik, Makertich Okrouyan, and the owners of 'Beck Broker' have not responded to inquiries from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalists, and the authorities overseeing the enforcement of sanctions in the EU and Switzerland have also stated that they do not comment on specific cases.