Former Russian Banker Allegedly Walked Away With $2 Billion In Bail Out Money

William Byrnes

SwissInfo reports the incredible story of Sergei Pugachev, who was called at one time “Putin’s Banker.” But the Russian President wants back $2 billion Russian government dollars that Pugachev allegedly pocketed that was meant to save a failing Russian bank. France will not extradite him.

Pugachev allegedly laundered the proceeds through the Geneva-based Banque Societé Génerale, with the assistance of the Mossack Fonseca law firm of Panama Papers fame.

The newspaper reports revealed that Pugachev, a former Russian senator who later became known as “Putin’s banker,” is accused of having laundered some $700 million via Geneva’s Banque Societé Génerale. Those money laundering activities were brought to light via the Panama Papers, which revealed offshore banking data stemming from the Panamanian firm Mossack Fonseca.

William H. Byrnes has achieved authoritative prominence with more than 20 books, treatise chapters and book supplements, 1,000 media articles, and the monthly subscriber Tax Facts Intelligence. Titles include: Lexis® Guide to FATCA Compliance, Foreign Tax and Trade Briefs, Practical Guide to U.S. Transfer Pricing, and Money Laundering, Asset Forfeiture; Recovery, and Compliance (a Global Guide). He is a principal author of the Tax Facts series. He was a Senior Manager, then Associate Director of international tax for Coopers and Lybrand, and practiced in Southern Africa, Western Europe, South East Asia, the Indian sub-continent, and the Caribbean. He has been commissioned by a number of governments on tax policy. Obtained the title of tenured law professor in 2005 at St. Thomas in Miami, and in 2008 the level of Associate Dean at Thomas Jefferson. William Byrnes pioneered online legal education in 1995, thereafter creating the first online LL.M. offered by an ABA accredited law school (International Taxation and Financial Services graduate program).

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