Nikolai Glushkov
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Glushkov is a former Deputy Director-General of Aeroflot
and a former Finance Manager of AvtoVAZ
.
Glushkov had been AvtoVAZ's Finance Chief until he left his job in autumn 1995 and was appointed as Deputy General Director of Aeroflot on request from Yevgeny Shaposhnikov
in February 1996.
According to the claim of Alexander Goldfarb
, employee of the Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky employee, he found that the airline company worked as a "cash cow to support international spying operations": 3,000 people out of the total workforce of 14,000 in Aeroflot were FSB
, SVR
, or
GRU
officers. All proceeds from ticket sales were distributed to 352 foreign bank accounts that could not be controlled by the Aeroflot administration. According to Alex Goldfarb
, Glushkov closed all these accounts and channeled the money to an accounting center called Andava in Switzerland
. He also sent a bill and wrote a letter to SVR
director Yevgeni Primakov and FSB director Mikhail Barsukov
asking them to pay the salaries of their intelligence officers in Aeroflot in 1996.
However, Glushkov and Berezovsky were main shareholders of Swiss company Andava at that time, and they both were accused of stealing money from Aeroflot.
Glushkov was arrested in 2000 by Russian authorities on fraud charges (channeling money through his accounting center Andava), being seriously ill. He was a close ally of Berezovsky, who gave up his shares of the ORT
TV channel (and, according to some sources, transferred them to Roman Abramovich
's Sibneft) for the promise to release him, which was not fulfilled.
In April 2001 Andrei Lugovoi
was arrested and charged with organizing the escape of Glushkov from a hospital (Scientific Hematological Center). However according to Glushkov, that was a set-up by FSB. He had no intention to escape and "was walking in his slippers to the hospital gate to go home for the night, with his guards' knowledge, as he had done a few days earlier".
During his trial, Glushkov was incarcerated in Lefortovo prison
, he was cleared of the original fraud and money laundering charges by the court in March 2004 but found guilty of attempted escape and "abuse of authority".
Aeroflot
OJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines , commonly known as Aeroflot , is the flag carrier and largest airline of the Russian Federation, based on passengers carried per year...
and a former Finance Manager of AvtoVAZ
AvtoVAZ
AvtoVAZ is the Russian automobile manufacturer formerly known as VAZ: Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod , but better known to the world under the trade name Lada. The company was established in the late 1960s in collaboration with Fiat...
.
Glushkov had been AvtoVAZ's Finance Chief until he left his job in autumn 1995 and was appointed as Deputy General Director of Aeroflot on request from Yevgeny Shaposhnikov
Yevgeny Shaposhnikov
Yevgeny Ivanovich Shaposhnikov is a Russian military leader and business figure, Marshal of Aviation .Shaposhnikov was born on a farm near Aksay in Rostov Oblast Russia...
in February 1996.
According to the claim of Alexander Goldfarb
Alexander Goldfarb (microbiologist)
Alexander Davidovich Goldfarb is a Russian-American microbiologist, activist, and author. He emigrated from the USSR in 1975 and lived in Israel and Germany before settling permanently in New York in 1982. Goldfarb is a naturalized American citizen...
, employee of the Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky employee, he found that the airline company worked as a "cash cow to support international spying operations": 3,000 people out of the total workforce of 14,000 in Aeroflot were FSB
FSB (Russia)
The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation is the main domestic security agency of the Russian Federation and the main successor agency of the Soviet Committee of State Security . Its main responsibilities are counter-intelligence, internal and border security, counter-terrorism, and...
, SVR
SVR
- Meteorology :*SVR, the SAME code for a Severe Thunderstorm Warning- Technology :* Super Video Recording, a videocassette technology by Grundig, based upon the Philips Video Cassette Recording format* System V Release* SVR Technologies : , India....
, or
GRU
GRU
GRU or Glavnoye Razvedyvatel'noye Upravleniye is the foreign military intelligence directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation...
officers. All proceeds from ticket sales were distributed to 352 foreign bank accounts that could not be controlled by the Aeroflot administration. According to Alex Goldfarb
Alexander Goldfarb (microbiologist)
Alexander Davidovich Goldfarb is a Russian-American microbiologist, activist, and author. He emigrated from the USSR in 1975 and lived in Israel and Germany before settling permanently in New York in 1982. Goldfarb is a naturalized American citizen...
, Glushkov closed all these accounts and channeled the money to an accounting center called Andava in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He also sent a bill and wrote a letter to SVR
SVR
- Meteorology :*SVR, the SAME code for a Severe Thunderstorm Warning- Technology :* Super Video Recording, a videocassette technology by Grundig, based upon the Philips Video Cassette Recording format* System V Release* SVR Technologies : , India....
director Yevgeni Primakov and FSB director Mikhail Barsukov
Mikhail Barsukov
Mikhail Ivanovich Barsukov is a former Russian intelligence and government official...
asking them to pay the salaries of their intelligence officers in Aeroflot in 1996.
However, Glushkov and Berezovsky were main shareholders of Swiss company Andava at that time, and they both were accused of stealing money from Aeroflot.
Glushkov was arrested in 2000 by Russian authorities on fraud charges (channeling money through his accounting center Andava), being seriously ill. He was a close ally of Berezovsky, who gave up his shares of the ORT
Channel One (Russia)
Channel One is the first television channel to broadcast in the Soviet Union. The channel was renamed Ostankino Channel 1 in 1991, after the Soviet Union broke up and the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation. According to a recent government publication, the Russian government controls 51%...
TV channel (and, according to some sources, transferred them to Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
's Sibneft) for the promise to release him, which was not fulfilled.
In April 2001 Andrei Lugovoi
Andrei Lugovoi
Andrey Konstantinovich Lugovoy is a Russian politician and businessman and deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation for the LDPR. He is a former KGB bodyguard and the ex-head of the security firm "Ninth Wave."...
was arrested and charged with organizing the escape of Glushkov from a hospital (Scientific Hematological Center). However according to Glushkov, that was a set-up by FSB. He had no intention to escape and "was walking in his slippers to the hospital gate to go home for the night, with his guards' knowledge, as he had done a few days earlier".
During his trial, Glushkov was incarcerated in Lefortovo prison
Lefortovo prison
Lefortovo prison is a prison in Moscow, Russia, which, since 2005, has been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. It was built in 1881...
, he was cleared of the original fraud and money laundering charges by the court in March 2004 but found guilty of attempted escape and "abuse of authority".