When the deputy chairman of the Central Bank, Andrey Kozlov, was killed. Interview with the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank

On Wednesday evening, the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank, Andrei Kozlov, was fatally wounded in Moscow. Two assassins were waiting for him near the football base of "Spartak" and opened fire when Kozlov, together with the driver, left the building. The driver Alexander Semyonov died on the spot. Doctors fought for the banker's life until the morning, but to no avail. Experts unambiguously associate the death of Andrei Kozlov with his professional activities... He was engaged in the revocation of licenses from unscrupulous banks and made a lot of ill-wishers. Strange, but with such a "firing squad" position, he was not entitled to the protection of state structures. And he did not use personal protection - he believed that nothing threatened him.

Shots fired during fireworks

On Wednesday evening, when the working day ended, the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, Andrei Kozlov, went to the Sokolniki district. There, on the field of the educational and sports complex "Spartak" (USK), a football "corporate match" was to take place - the employees of the Central Bank played among themselves. Andrei Kozlov also played, and in the attack.

The game began at seven in the evening. The ball was chased in an indoor arena. Until half past eight. Half an hour later, Andrei Kozlov left the arena doors and headed towards a dark blue Mercedes parked nearby. His driver, Alexander Semyonov, was walking beside him. Despite the fact that Kozlov held one of the leading posts of the Central Bank, he did not have personal protection (he was not entitled to security by the FSO), and Semyonov often became his only escort. At that moment, the explosions of fireworks were heard.

They celebrated something, organized a corporate party, ”the girls from the student dormitory, which is located on the territory of“ Spartak ”, told Izvestia. - We heard fireworks clapping with might and main. Apparently, respectable people were walking.

It was at this moment that Kozlov got out and got into the Mercedes. From around the corner of the arena two men ran up to the Mercedes. There is not a single lantern in this place, and no one paid attention to the approaching silhouettes in the dark. The territory of the sports complex is completely planted with trees, and all the paths have long been overgrown with thick grass taller than human height.

With a quick step one of the killers approached the window of Kozlov's car and literally shot twice in the head of the banker at point-blank range. At this time, the second went straight to the driver, who was putting the chief's bags in the trunk.

The killers fired from pistols with silencers. However, the silencer of one of the assassins was blown off, and he continued to shoot openly. But among the clapping of fireworks, only Alexander Semyonov paid attention to the shots. He looked out from behind the trunk and was immediately shot in the chest. With the last of his strength, Semyonov tried to run back to the sports complex - it was only a few meters to the entrance. But the killer shot him in the back. Semyonov died before the doctors arrived.

The killers managed to hide in the forest park, in the vicinity of the Deer Ponds. It was not difficult at all. Despite the fact that there are two official entrances to the territory of "Spartak" and each of them is guarded, they easily went into the thick of trees. The route of departure was worked out to the smallest detail - there is a large hole in the fence nearby, the path through it leads to the forest park. From there - a few hundred meters to Oleniy Val street and Bogorodsky highway. But the service dogs took the trail only up to the fence. Further - wet grass, and the trail was lost.

Injuries incompatible with life

Literally a minute later, Andrei Kozlov's colleagues and comrades poured out onto the porch of the arena. Someone called an ambulance from a mobile, which arrived 10 minutes later. Doctors immediately took away Andrei Kozlov, who was still alive, and took him to the intensive care unit of the 33rd city hospital. The second car arrived a little later and took the body of Alexander Semyonov. He worked with Kozlov for several years, and professional relations have long since turned into friendly ones.

I'm shocked. I have known the chauffeur who drove Kozlov for a long time, ”one of the drivers of the elite garage of the Central Bank told Izvestia. - He worked with Kozlov for a long time, and they had good relationship... I have no idea how the criminals managed to find out the route of the car.

The sports complex was cordoned off, and in the city a plan-interception "Vulcan-5" was immediately introduced. But in hot pursuit, the killers could not be detained. At the crime scene, forensic experts found four cartridges from a Makarov pistol and a detached silencer. And 300 meters from the scene of the crime, two pistols were found in the tall grass near the fence - a homemade and converted Baikal pistol.

In the 33rd hospital, Andrei Kozlov was immediately put on the operating table on the verge of life and death. There was no time to hesitate.

We carried out a complex operation that lasted three hours, - the deputy chief physician of the hospital for surgery, Professor Nikolai Nikolaev, told Izvestia. - But he had injuries incompatible with life. Through wounds, the centers of the brain were affected, so he had no chance of survival initially. We tried to prolong his life.

After the operation, Kozlov was transferred to intensive care, but at half past five the banker's heart stopped. He died without regaining consciousness.

There were puddles of blood at the entrance to USK "Spartak" yesterday. Kozlov's Mercedes was parked nearby. Investigative actions continued on the territory of "Spartak". No one was allowed to enter the arena, and the "official" passages were reinforced by officers of private security companies and soldiers of the internal troops. Meanwhile, the territory, as well as the day before, could be easily entered through the “killer's loophole”.

Near the building of the Central Bank on Neglinnaya, where Andrei Kozlov worked, a state of general depression was felt. Bank employees, going out for a smoke break, discussed the incident in an undertone. However, all questions about possible reasons killing they only shrugged their shoulders.

Alexander Khandruev, ex-deputy chairman of the Central Bank:

He was very fond of playing football, although he did not do it very well. I was just very reckless, both in life and in work. Everything that happened, of course, is terrible, and this is a blow not only to the family, the consequences can be negative for banks as well: repression and strengthening of state control.

Alexander Murychev, head of the Association of Regional Banks:

This event can throw us back 10 years. Andrey Kozlov made a huge personal contribution in the development of civilized banking system... Thanks to his talent, he was able to create a supervisory block close to international standards... He knew how to negotiate with everyone. Of course, he stepped on a corn to many, often said things that could not have been said.

Alexander Semyonov, the deceased driver of Andrei Kozlov, was born on August 8, 1952. He worked at the car company of the Bank of Russia for over 10 years. He is survived by a wife and a daughter

Izvestia's version: The banker died for the money of Sodbiznesbank and Credittrust

The last major scandal with a criminal outcome - the death of a banker - is connected with the revocation of licenses from Sodbiznesbank and Credittrust. Andrei Kozlov was directly related to this process. About a year ago, the owner of these banks, Alexander Slesarev, was killed. It is possible that the shots at Andrei Kozlov are links in the same chain.

Sodbiznesbank's problems began in May 2004. The bank's management was accused of cashing money intended to ransom the kidnapped general director of OJSC KamAZ-Metallurgy Viktor Faber and deputy director of this company for economics Natalya Starodubtseva (they were killed, although the kidnappers received a ransom). The bank's license was revoked, but the bank's management did not allow law enforcement agencies to enter "their territory" for two weeks. This required a special operation with the participation of riot police.

During the audit, it turned out that many of the bank's assets were withdrawn, including to the affiliated bank "Credittrust".

Credittrust's license was also revoked. Its liquidation took place with scandals. According to some reports, assets worth 5.78 billion rubles (about $ 200 million) were withdrawn from the bank. $ 20 million was transferred to the National Capital Bank. In early October 2005, a letter dated December 2004 was published. It was signed by the owner of NK-Bank Dmitry Plytnik, who admitted the fact of withdrawing the assets of Credittrust and expressed fears for his life. The swimmer is still on the run, the National Capital Bank was declared bankrupt (the powers of his provisional administration were terminated on February 1, 2006). It is curious that the bankruptcy of the bank took place under the management state agency for deposit insurance.

More than 700 million rubles (more than $ 26 million) are still hanging in Sodbiznesbank, ”Valery Miroshnikov, deputy director of the Deposit Insurance Agency, told Izvestia yesterday,“ despite the fact that 70% of deposits were returned to individuals. Money from Sodbiznesbank was withdrawn not only to Kredittrast, but also to other banks. Now this is being done by the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As for NK-Bank, the bulk of the money was withdrawn from there by lending to enterprises. That is, the bank gave good amounts against “bad” bills.

We would venture to suggest that not everyone was ready to put up with the loss of money in Sodbiznesbank and Kredittrust. The unofficial owner of these financial and credit institutions (and this was admitted even by the leaders of the Association of Russian Banks) was businessman Alexander Slesarev. On October 16 last year, a few days after the publication of Plytnik's letter, Slesarev and his family were driving to the Moscow region along the Kashirskoye highway. He was overtaken by an Audi without license plates, from which machine gun fire and pistol shots were heard. Alexander Slesarev, his wife Natalya and 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth were killed, their seven-year-old niece was seriously injured. It is curious that, as Izvestia found out, at the beginning of this year, the investigation into the murder was suspended due to the impossibility of finding the killer, but just a month ago it was resumed.

The murder of Slesarev was the first criminal showdown in the banking community for a very long time. It is possible that the attempt on Andrei Kozlov's life was organized by the same people. The fact is that Andrei Kozlov was directly involved in the liquidation of these banks and the search for their assets. In addition, the said Deposit Insurance Agency is his brainchild. It is possible that after the bankruptcies of Sodbiznesbank and Credittrust, some people who had serious money in the bank tried to get it directly from Alexander Slesarev. The negotiations were not crowned with success - Slesarev referred to the Central Bank and Andrei Kozlov personally, offering to find out the fate of the money from him. It is possible that after the murder of Slesarev, these people did just that ...

The youngest in the Central Bank

The biography of the 41-year-old banker Andrei Kozlov was truly stellar. He was only 30 years old when he became deputy chairman The central bank... An unprecedented case for this very conservative department. Kozlov, until the last moment, remained the youngest on the board of directors of the Central Bank.

The future banker graduated from the Faculty of International economic relations Moscow financial institution and immediately went to work at the Central Bank. There, a super career awaited him - in one year he went from an economist to the head of the department of methodology of stock operations of the Office valuable papers State Bank of the USSR. A year later, he headed the Securities Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and in 1995 became Deputy Head of the Central Bank Sergei Dubinin. In this position, he became one of the founders of the GKO pyramid that led to the 1998 crisis. It was because of this young, promising banker that the first serious blow of fate was overtaken.

During the 1998 crisis, Kozlov personally promised Russian citizens to keep their deposits in banks if they transfer them to Sberbank. This appeal not only precipitated the collapse of the country's banking system, but also led to the loss of savings of hundreds of thousands of Russians. On transferring accounts due to the undervalued exchange rate, they lost more than half of their savings. Soon, the Central Bank recognized this measure as erroneous, and the head of the Central Bank, Sergei Dubinin, together with Andrei Kozlov, were fired.

The young, talented banker quickly found work in commercial structures. He headed the Russian Standard Bank, the World of AEROFLOT company, as well as the American Volunteer Corps for the provision of financial services". In April 2002, the new head of the Central Bank, Sergei Ignatiev, invited Kozlov back, making him his first deputy.

He was very fond of football ...

Andrey Kozlov was very fond of football. It was he who created the Central Bank team and regularly invited his colleagues to play. In friendly matches with colleagues from other government agencies, Kozlov was the team's captain.

When, after the 1998 crisis, Andrei Kozlov left the Central Bank, he gathered his employees and gave them a small show. "Now you will see something that you have never seen," he said with a smile and ... knocked over a glass of champagne. Everyone gasped: no one had ever seen Kozlov drink or, say, light a cigarette. The Central Bank simply did not have a more “correct” employee.

In the 1990s, when Andrei Kozlov was already deputy chairman of the Central Bank, one of his colleagues, deputy chairmen, accidentally found out that he was living with his family in a small two-room Khrushchev building. Although by that time several of Kozlov's subordinates had already received new service apartments... The question was put to the head of the Central Bank Dubinin, and they found an apartment.

V last years Andrei Kozlov became a more secular person, he was often seen on banking forums and get-togethers. However, at the same time, very few could call themselves his friends.

“Sometimes incompatible things were combined in him - he was completely childishly sensitive and at the same time a principled professional in the implementation of supervision and regulation activities,” said one of Andrei Kozlov's colleagues.

Although he was considered a workaholic, Andrei Kozlov had a strong family - a wife, two sons (18 and 12 years old) and a daughter (8 years old).

He was not forgiven for "life excommunication"

No one in the Central Bank had as many enemies as Andrei Kozlov. When law enforcement agencies compile a list of those to whom he crossed the road in recent years, it will take more than a dozen pages. “Many people hated him,” one of Kozlov's colleagues told Izvestia, “those from whom he revoked their licenses, whom he did not accept into the deposit insurance system ... Andrey was generally a tough and uncompromising person.” After talking with Andrei Kozlov's colleagues and representatives of banks, Izvestia found out several of the most acute conflicts, because of which the banker's enemies could decide to eliminate it.

The first version. Lifetime weaning

Just a few days ago, at a banking forum in Sochi, Andrei Kozlov announced a radical initiative. He offered to disqualify the bankers for life, who once "spotted" in money laundering. The fact is that the owners of banks whose licenses have been revoked, for example, for illegal "cashing out", most often after a short time acquire a new bank in which they do the same. To quickly identify the "highlighted" bankers, Kozlov proposed an innovation: to oblige audit companies to report to the Central Bank if their clients (banks, companies and related individuals) are seen in questionable cases. Cash-out is a multi-billion dollar business, often associated with crime, and Kozlov's initiative to ban it caused, for obvious reasons, dissatisfaction on the part of deputies, bankers and auditors.

Second version. Revoking licenses

Since the beginning of this year, Andrei Kozlov has launched an unprecedented campaign to revoke licenses from “problem” banks. The number of revoked licenses has doubled compared to last year, in a number of cases licenses are revoked precisely for participation in legalization of illegal income. Moreover, in the coming years, Kozlov promised to liquidate more than 400 small banks in order to "enlarge" the Russian banking system. Naturally, not everyone in banking circles liked this.

Moreover, the process of revoking the license was going on permanently: for example, the last case was dated September 8th. Commercial "Investkombank BELKOM" was punished, among other things, for violation of the provisions of the law "On Counteracting Legalization (Laundering) of Criminally Obtained Incomes and Financing of Terrorism." Under the order, as always, is the signature of Andrei Kozlov.

Third version. Deposit insurance

Andrey Kozlov's favorite brainchild was the deposit insurance system, created after last year's summer banking crisis... It is interesting that Kozlov's enemies called him the culprit of this very crisis. The fact is that shortly before the memorable events, he announced the existence of a certain "black list" of banks that are in critical financial situation... It was not announced which banks exactly, and frightened clients began to en masse transfer their funds from private to state banks. As a result, several large banks went bankrupt (read more about this on the same page).

Andrey Kozlov was instructed to settle the consequences of the banking crisis, and soon the Deposit Insurance Agency was created under his control, which had the right, at its discretion, to accept banks into the system or not to accept them. The agency's work sparked numerous protests from those who were not accepted. Bankers even talked about the corruption of this structure, but no confirmation of this has yet been received.

Which banks Andrey Kozlov revoked licenses from in 2006

Bank "Archekas", CB "OTBank", "United Transport Bank", Bank "Transregional finance company"," Galichkombank "," Zhilstroyekonombank ", Bank" Orion "," Roskomveteranbank ", Bank" Capital Capital "," Marketingbank "," Delna Bank "," BBC-D-Bank "," Panemstroybank ", Bank" Regional Perspective"," Krasnoyarsk social commercial Bank"," Joint Stock Commercial Bank of Investments and Technologies ", Bank" Oil ", Bank" Alliance-Capital "," RTB-Bank ", Bank" Russian Financial Traditions "," Interindustry industrial bank"," RFO Bank ", Bank" Petrovka "," European settlement bank"," Mosprombank "," VIP-bank "," Ifko-bank "," Stroybank "," Exiton "bank," EAFA-bank "," Union-Trade "bank," Federal Development Bank "," Interkontakt "bank , Mosoblinvestbank, Bank Fonon, Bank for Investment and Lending, Univerbank, Federal Industrial Bank, Bank Centurion, OTBank, Bank TFK, Bank Discount, Bank Neman , "Investkombank BELKOM" and non-bank credit institutions"Inkabor" and "National Settlement and Credit Society".

Maria ROGACHEVA, Oleg ZHUNUSOV

"Rossiyskaya Gazeta", "Attempted Bank Secrecy":

In his last speech to bankers from the rostrum of the Sochi forum, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia Andrei Kozlov said that he was in favor of introducing a life-long ban on the profession for bankers involved in tax fraud and money-laundering crimes. Five days after that, an attempt was made on his life.

The need for such tough measures, according to Andrei Kozlov, is due to the fact that, as a rule, the bankers' team of a credit institution, which the Central Bank deprives of its license, will soon find its full complement in another bank, where it is also engaged in cashing. While admitting that dealing with the "gray bankers" is the task of law enforcement agencies, not the Central Bank, Andrei Kozlov nevertheless believed that it was time to raise the question of personal responsibility for the Central Bank.

Bankers of this level, especially state ones, have not yet been killed in Russia. They began to build a truly banking system after financial crisis 1998, and even then not immediately.

No, of course, there have been business conflicts, and even now they sometimes turn into criminal incidents. It has become, however, much less of them in comparison with the same 90s. Nevertheless, they are. As for Andrei Kozlov, he, being the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank, oversaw perhaps the hottest issues: supervision of banks.

And recently, he has pursued a consistent tough policy to cleanse the system of banks involved in laundering criminal proceeds, cashing out “muddy” money and dubious operations to “optimize taxation”. Under the leadership of Andrei Kozlov, since the beginning of 2006, the Central Bank revoked licenses from 46 banks, in August alone 7 credit institutions were deprived of their licenses, and last bank lost the right to work in the market shortly before his death - on September 7. In most cases, the revocation of licenses was associated with the illegal activities of credit institutions.

In addition to appealing to bankers with a proposal to "squeeze out of the banking system" those colleagues who "disgrace their ranks", Andrei Kozlov proposed a number of administrative measures to more effectively fight the Central Bank with "financial laundries", one of which was the abolition of bank secrecy when auditing credit institutions. It consisted in obliging auditors to submit to the Bank of Russia data on the unfavorable state of affairs in the bank, which threatens the interests of its depositors and creditors.

An equally acute issue is the laundering of "dirty" money. For which not only banks could lose their licenses, but also many high-ranking officials to suffer. Moreover, in April next year, he will come to us with a FATF check, which will thoroughly investigate all issues related to money laundering. And by the end of the year, a law should be adopted, according to which officials of the so-called category "A" and "B" (ministers, their deputies, deputies, members of their families and even relatives) should not be seen taking part in any JSC, LLC, banks and others.

And there is no need to talk about making any profit, whether it be dividends from stocks or a second salary in an envelope. Bankers will have to report all transactions on their accounts, and the banks themselves will have to be controlled by the divisions supervised by Andrei Kozlov.

Another "explosive" problem in recent years has become, oddly enough, lending by banks to the population. The situation with bad loans led to the fact that banks began to compile not only lists of unreliable clients, but also entire cities and goods with which the greatest losses are associated. But not all credit organizations, as practice shows, have taken care of solving this problem. A number of pocket banks have both issued and continue to issue loans to "safe hands". And as a result, the total portfolio of banks' loans over the past two and a half years has increased fivefold, reaching 1.5 trillion rubles by July 1 (data from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation), and overdue debt over the same time increased by 11.7 times. Its volume exceeded one billion rubles, and after another three months it almost reached 1.5 billion rubles. All this suggests that if loans continue to be issued at the same pace, or rather not to return, the path of banks from financial well-being to bankruptcy will be very short. True, not all. But this does not make it easier for depositors. After all, how do you know which bank is playing too risky a game on the "credit field"? Although credit institutions have become fully open, they are required to publish all information in the open press. But this print, sometimes, comes with a small circulation, and sometimes, to save money, banks even resort to the services of some regional newspaper. The law did not seem to be violated, the information was published, but go and find it. Andrei Kozlov, as you know, actively opposed the unreasonably risky credit policy banks, among which, of course, there were those who issued loans to "their safe hands."

... In his last interview on the development of Russian market securities, Andrey Kozlov said: "I consider myself an adherent of one model - the Russian one!"

“Vedomosti”, “He was ideological. Ideological and stubborn ":

“Kozlov was an“ absolutely non-commercial person, ”and his job was to come up with models and mechanisms, says Bella Zlatkis, deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank. “When he left due to the post-crisis change of team at the Central Bank, I suggested that he go into business. At first, Andrei took an active part in the formation of the Russian Standard Bank: he was the chairman of the board, and I was the chairman of the board of directors, "recalls businessman Alexander Zurabov, who talked a lot with Kozlov during his leadership of Bank Menatep and Trust and Investment Bank.

Kozlov left the "Russian Standard" in 2000, stating that he had fulfilled his mission as a start-up manager of the project. Then for several months, as his biography says, he worked as a private consultant on the problems of reengineering banking business processes. Nothing is known about his clients at that time. But the next project received wide publicity.

In 2000, Kozlov again, with the help of Zurabov, became the general director of the travel company Mir Aeroflot, created by the national air carrier. “Of course, he had not been involved in tourism before, but I am convinced that in modern world a person has to change his occupation every now and then - people from the outside have a fresh outlook on things. He was a strong, energetic, knowledgeable man - and he actively joined the new business, ”Zurabov recalls. Kozlov promised that the company would occupy 30% of the market, and even introduced the sale of tours on credit, which almost no one did at that time. But already in 2001, Kozlov went on vacation, from which he did not return to Mir Aeroflot, and in 2003 the company completely curtailed its activities.

Zurabov agrees with Zlatkis: Kozlov was a non-profit person. “As a person, he was formed in state system... I got used to doing everything according to the rules, in fairness. And in business because of this, you can sometimes lose to competitors. Cheating and deceit were alien to him. If he sold a product 10% more expensive, he said it directly, did not try to disguise the price, like others, Zurabov says about Kozlov's business career. Kozlov worked for another year as Managing Director of the American Volunteer Corps for the Rendering of Financial Services operating in Russia. Kozlov's acquaintances attributed this appointment to his friendship with the American ambassador, Alexander Vershbow.

... Kozlov was instructed to modernize supervision. And he got down to business, rolling up his sleeves, intending to make full use of the experience gained during his absence from the Central Bank. “I got a new look at the situation. I got better acquainted with the problems that bankers face in reality, looked at them from the other side. I learned how they live, what worries them not only in relation to the Central Bank, but also in relations with each other. What order, what atmosphere, what principles exist there - which, by the way, are also not always beautiful. Not all banks have something to brag about in this regard. Therefore, now, when I am engaged in supervision, I can look at two or three levels in depth at those problems that are formally written on paper, "he admitted in an interview with Vedomosti in the spring of 2002.

Decisions were not long in coming. First the fight was declared fictitious capital- the classical "scheme", when the bank issued a loan, and then the same money was contributed to its capital, came under the special control of the Central Bank. And although none of the large banks had to “blow off” capital, it became impossible to increase it so easily, the bankers admitted. This was followed by a call to disclose the real owners, the transition from formal supervision to a reasoned judgment of the regulator about the state of affairs in the bank, the introduction of the institution of personal curators and monitoring compliance with standards on a daily basis, which prevented banks from “drawing” balances by making special deals on reporting dates.

The bankers did not immediately perceive the new reality. In private conversations, they did not hide their skepticism. “You cannot cut all the Gordian knots with cavalry swoops, and the Central Bank has neither the strength nor the experience to prove the" schematic nature "of certain operations," said one of them. However, all the innovations of the Central Bank were used in the selection of banks for the deposit insurance system - this law, which had been in the Duma for almost 10 years, was adopted after Ignatiev and Kozlov came to the Central Bank ”.

... After the "Sodbiznes affair" Kozlov was banned from communicating with the press, and banks began to pass through the selection sieve into the insurance system. Not without the offended. Rumors spread throughout the market that services for entering the system cost from several tens of thousands to millions of dollars. The acquaintances with Kozlov said that his phones were broken by calls from high-ranking petitioners. “It’s hard for him, but he holds the blow,” one of his comrades-in-arms said at the time. However, he did not always succeed. “He told me that he would stand to death, but one of the banks would not let him through. Then I look - he is already in the system, ”recalls one of the officials. “We have repeatedly met with Andrey Andreyevich face to face. He helped us a lot with advice. And he had so many opportunities to get money from us that if he did it, he would certainly take the opportunity. He was ideological. Ideological and stubborn, ”recalls the head of one bank.

“Kozlov has repeatedly warned that such steps displease many dishonest bankers. And what does he know about the impending campaign against him in the press, since the actions of the Central Bank undermine the billion-dollar cashing business, ”says Danilov-Danilyan. "I have no words. I am very offended that this is happening in my country. Andrey was a great man, a very important person for our country. He stood at the origins of the Russian Standard Bank, was its first chairman. Although we worked a little together, I learned a lot from him. First of all, don't compromise even when it's difficult. I hope that we will all draw serious conclusions from this tragic incident, "said Rustam Tariko, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Russian Standard Group."

"Vremya novostei", "Supervision in Russian":

The murder of the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank, Andrei Kozlov, caused a unanimous reaction. This crime is a turning point in the development of the banking system, a challenge not only to the Central Bank as a regulator of the banking sector, but also to the entire system of state power. Regardless of whether the murder is solved, its customers are found and punished, the authorities will have to realize that powerful forces are operating in its "rear", whose criminal potential is capable of casting doubt on the success of the growing Russian economy.

"Call public policy»

“This murder shows that in Russia the supervision of banking sector OMON should deal with it, ”one of Andrei Kozlov's colleagues told Vremya novostey yesterday. After high-profile scandals With the revocation of licenses from banks two years ago, the position of the first deputy of the Central Bank in charge of supervision was called “firing squad” in the market. Of course, then no one could have guessed what the fight against crime in the banking system would turn out to be for Andrei Kozlov, but it became obvious that this was the most conflict and dangerous area in the work of the Central Bank. He led a persistent campaign to oust shadow operations from banking. “This work, which is not a direct function of the Central Bank, but which it had to deal with simultaneously with the tightening of supervisory requirements,” commented on the role of Andrei Kozlov in eliminating illegal transactions in the banking sector, the former Minister of Finance and now the head of VTB-24 Bank Mikhail Zadornov.

... In 2004, Andrei Kozlov launched a full-scale and purposeful war against money laundering in the banking system. “We cannot allow a sick banking system to enter the new economic reality. We cannot entrust the deposits of the population to banks with a dubious reputation "- this is how Mr. Kozlov explained the tightening of supervision over banks.

Cleaning the ranks of the banking system, and not for the usual reason for the market - “unsatisfactory financial condition”, And under the article on money laundering, provoked the most powerful conflict of interests in the banking system since 1998. The scandalous confrontation between the Sodbiznesbank management and Andrei Kozlov personally gave rise to the 2004 “crisis of confidence”, “black lists”, panic in the interbank loan market, liquidation of banks accused of aiding criminal and terrorist organizations.

“We work with banks tough and seriously and we know enough about banks and bankers to demand that the situation be rectified,” said Kozlov after revoking the license from Sodbiznes.

Mr. Kozlov was accused of aggravating the situation in the market, as well as inability to control the banking system. The stream of criticism and even demands for his resignation forced the chairman of the Central Bank, Sergei Ignatiev, to defend his deputy in the State Duma and to explain what was happening to President Putin. And although the expected resignation of Kozlov did not happen, it is believed that the Kremlin and the White House considered him to be guilty of the crisis. And if the destabilization of the situation in the sector was repeated, Kozlov would have remembered the panic of depositors, the scandal with Sodbiznes, and the revocation of licenses. However, there was no relapse. Already in September 2004, Andrei Kozlov spoke about the success of the fight against legalization of illegal income through banks: “For five years, we have seen an increase in the scale of cashing operations Money on non-resident figureheads. Now we see that for the first time since May the volume of such cashing has decreased by half ”.

And in the summer of 2005, Andrei Kozlov, in fact, thanked the banking crisis: "Even the crisis had more positive consequences, since it allowed to cleanse the banking system of a number of odious organizations." Shortly before this, the head of the KFM Viktor Zubkov said that for every third of 950 inquiries received from law enforcement agencies, "legalization of criminal proceeds is revealed."

Although no more crises of confidence arose, the scandals continued. It is worth at least to recall the investigation by the Prosecutor General's Office on violations of the Central Bank in relation to the bankrupt bank "Credittrust", from where the assets were allegedly withdrawn with the knowledge of the regulator.

Yet the banking community seemed resigned to the purge of its ranks. Last year, the Central Bank revoked the licenses of 40 banks (in total, since mid-2004, the Central Bank has revoked the licenses of 90 credit institutions). “I don’t undertake to give accurate forecasts, but, probably, the process will continue at such a pace,” Andrei Kozlov said last year, thereby once again making it clear that he intends to “cleanse” the banking system from criminals in the future. ”

"Vedomosti", "Left without supervision":

“Already in the afternoon, during the inspection, about three hundred meters from the scene of the incident, two abandoned pistols were found, of which the murder was allegedly committed. This is a homemade pistol and an alteration from a Baikal air pistol for a live cartridge. According to an investigator from the Moscow prosecutor's office, who has experience in investigating contract killings, such alterations are quite often used by hired killers. This weapon is not very reliable, which may indicate not very high level shooters. But the history of this weapon is almost impossible to trace, the investigator adds. The killers successfully chose the scene of the crime, said an employee of the metropolitan prosecutor's office. But this choice was quite risky, he adds, because not only Kozlov could have security, but also other participants in the match. This, according to the interlocutor of Vedomosti, may also indicate a very average level of "professionalism" of the criminals.

The known circumstances of the murder indicate that they were carefully preparing for it, says Dmitry Fonarev, president of the Association of Bodyguards, most likely, they watched Kozlov in advance, knew if he was guarded, foreseen escape routes and conducted reconnaissance of the crime scene. But the performers themselves, judging by the fact that Kozlov was not killed immediately, and by handicraft weapons, were not high-class hired killers, Fonarev believes ...

... Most believe that the reason for the murder was not the already committed actions of Kozlov, but his plans. “The version of revenge of the offended bankers is too trivial ... Andrei would certainly feel the danger if it came from those whom he could offend,” says Andrei Cherepanov, who studied with Kozlov and worked with him at the Central Bank. Banker and State Duma deputy Alexander Lebedev recalls that quite recently "there were checks on some large banks." “This attempt cannot have everyday and accidental reasons, they must be looked for in the banking supervision,” he is sure. “He went to something systemic, connected with the laundering of dirty money, most likely, he saw the entire chain of laundering as a whole,” says the head of the banking committee of the Federation Council Sergei Vasiliev. Sysuev advises "to pay attention to the" cashing ", schemes with non-refund of VAT, etc.", not excluding that the customer of the crime could be the one whom the Central Bank's sanctions could only overtake. The customers of such killings are often not those who have already suffered from the activities of an official, but those who could have suffered in the near future, says an investigator specializing in contract killings. “Among the owners of banks involved in cashing and money laundering, including those associated with“ gray imports, ”there may be thugs who could order such a crime. Moreover, the fact that all the forces of the state would be thrown into its disclosure could not have bothered these people - it is very difficult to prove such crimes, ”he said. One of Kozlov's acquaintances also adheres to the version with "thugs".

... Finding a worthy replacement will not be easy. “Against the background of the Central Bank, which reformed banks carefully, Kozlov was a phenomenon,” Sysuev notes. "He was the only one trying to act, and he did everything in public." This is the systemic weakness of the financial authorities - the deceased Kozlov may simply not find an adequate replacement, Sysuev believes. “We do not have a person with such experience of supervision and outlook as Kozlov, - states Vasiliev. - Of course, the system of supervision for them, in principle, has been built up, but all the same, I do not see a replacement for him from the Central Bank - he was very bright.

First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation Andrei Kozlov was killed in Moscow.

On Wednesday at about 21:30 he left the Spartak stadium on Oleniy Val Street, where the leaders of the Central Bank were playing football. When the deputy chairman of the Central Bank had already got into the car, two unknown persons opened fire on the car.

Kozlov's driver died on the spot. Kozlov himself was wounded in the chest and head. Without regaining consciousness, he died in the 33rd city hospital, where they fought for his life for 5 hours.

Immediately after the assassination attempt in Moscow, an interception plan for Vulcan-5 was put into effect. The description of the car in which the killers fled from the scene of the crime was transmitted to all traffic police posts. There is no data on the killers' appearance, since it was dark outside.

A criminal case was initiated under Part 2 of Art. 105 (murder) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The operational groups of the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office, the FSB, as well as a group of the Moscow Prosecutor's Office are involved in the investigation.

The Moscow prosecutor's office is considering several versions of the attempt on Andrei Kozlov's life, among which in the first place is the version related to professional activities. As the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank, Kozlov oversaw the issues of banking supervision. Departments of the Central Bank, which were subordinate to Kozlov, dealt with all decisions on depriving banks of licenses, as well as issues on accepting certain banks into the deposit insurance system. RBC notes that these decisions were quite tough.

In particular, at the last banking forum in Sochi, Kozlov proposed a lifelong ban on banking to all heads of banks convicted of money laundering. In August last year, the Central Bank launched a "purge" of the banking system. As Kozlov said then, worst banks have to leave. According to him, the most important thing for the development of the banking system was improving the quality of assets and attracting "honest and real capital." During this time, several dozen banks have lost their licenses. "We are forest orderlies, forest orderlies do not like forests, but someone has to do it, and we do it," Kozlov said earlier, emphasizing that the Bank of Russia will continue to make high demands on the quality of management, quality assets and the quality of personnel in banks.

In the summer of 2004, Kozlov announced the existence of a "black list" of banks. Then he and the chairman of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service Viktor Zubkov, commenting on the revocation of the license from Sodbiznesbank for laundering criminal proceeds, said that several more banks were suspected of similar violations, and their licenses would also be revoked. These banks were not named. The statement sparked a wave of mistrust among depositors, who began to close their deposits and transfer them from private to state banks. Recently, Kozlov has advocated the fight against those banks that did not provide clients with real information about the cost of consumer loans.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Credit Institutions and Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov, commenting on the murder of Kozlov, recalled that the deceased "was in charge of the Central Bank for the supervisory block and was engaged in the selection of banks in the deposit insurance system." "Not everyone liked his professional position - he was fundamentally related to a strict selection of organizations," said Aksakov, noting that Kozlov did not suit many of those "who were involved in large-scale money laundering." "Kozlov was engaged in cleaning out the banking system and, possibly," stepped on "those who were involved in illegal actions," - said the head of the Duma committee on credit organizations and financial markets.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Banking Committee Pavel Medvedev told reporters: “This could be due to his professional activities. banking and behaved in an unusually noble manner. "According to Medvedev, over the past year, three to four dozen banks have lost their licenses for dishonest work. And this was the result of efforts undertaken by Kozlov. Medvedev recalled that Kozlov was an active participant in the adoption of the deposit insurance law, and it was he who insisted on tight control over the banks.

The attempt on the life of the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kozlov, could have been organized by representatives of banks that were not included in the deposit insurance system and failed to win lawsuits against the Central Bank in court. "The most likely reason for the assassination attempt is Kozlov's participation in overseeing the inclusion of banks in the deposit insurance system; to such an extent those who were not included in the insurance system could be dissatisfied with Kozlov, and it was in connection with this area of ​​his activity that the most complaints were made against him." - a source in banking circles told RBC.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhukov, commenting on the attempt on Andrei Kozlov's life, called it a daring crime. The Deputy Prime Minister hopes that law enforcement agencies will promptly uncover this crime and the perpetrators will be held accountable. Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said that "the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has repeatedly attacked the interests of unscrupulous financiers." The official commentary of the Bank of Russia notes that Kozlov made a huge contribution to reforming the country's banking system, increasing its efficiency, transparency and sustainability. “Andrei Kozlov was distinguished by exceptional dedication and dedication to his work, personal modesty and great charm. These qualities contributed to the fact that A. Kozlov enjoyed indisputable authority and sympathy among his colleagues in the banking community, all those who had a chance to communicate and work with him, ”reads the official website of the Central Bank.

Andrey Kozlov was born on January 6, 1965 in Moscow. In 1983-1985. completed compulsory military service in the USSR Armed Forces. Graduated from the Faculty of International Economic Relations of the Moscow Financial Institute in 1989. In 1989-1990. - Senior economist, expert of the second category of the currency and economic department of the State Bank of the USSR. 1990-1991 - economist, expert of the first category, then - leading expert, head of the department of methodology of stock transactions of the securities management of the State Bank of the USSR. In 1991-1992 - Head of the Securities Department of the Main Department for Regulation money turnover Bank of Russia. 1992-1995 - Head of the Securities Department of the Bank of Russia. In 1995-1996. - Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia - Director of the Securities Department of the Bank of Russia. In 1996-1997 - Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia. In 1997-1999 - First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia.

In 1999-2000. - Chairman of the Board of CJSC "Bank" Russian Standard ". In 2000 - a private consultant on the problems of reengineering of banking business processes. In 2000-2001 - General Director of LLC" World of Aeroflot ". In 2001-2002 - Managing Director "Volunteer Corps for Financial Services" (USA). Since 2002 - First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia.

He was married and had three children.

Time of publication: September 14, 2006, 08:45 | last updated: December 7, 2017 10:21 AM

At the 33rd clinical hospital in Moscow, at about 5:30 in the morning, the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kozlov, died, the attempt on which took place on Wednesday evening. After a five-hour operation, he was in a coma, his life was supported by medical equipment, RIA Novosti reports.

Weapons have already been found, from which the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kozlov, and his driver were allegedly shot. One homemade and one converted Baikal pistol were found 250-300 meters from the scene, in the tall grass near the fence of the Spartak sports complex.

Among the reasons for the murder of the banker is his professional activity. Kozlov took a tough stance against banks that cashed, laundered money or engaged in other illegal activities.

This year alone, the Central Bank, on Kozlov's initiative, revoked the licenses of 40 banks, the last of them to have lost their licenses a few days ago was Investkombank Belkom. But, as operatives believe, the "customers" of the crime should be sought not among those who lost their licenses, but who were on the waiting list. In his recent interviews, Kozlov stated that he intends to further revoke the licenses of banks involved in money laundering, Vremya Novostey notes.

On Wednesday evening at about 21:00 on Oleniy Val street, building 3, on the territory of the football club "Spartak", an attempt was made on the life of the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kozlov. He received serious gunshot wounds, including to the head, and was taken to the 33rd city hospital. His driver was killed. Most likely, the killers were mistaken, since it was the driver who received the control shot in the head.

According to colleagues, Kozlov took part in a corporate football match, which employees of the Central Bank and commercial banks arrange there every Wednesday. According to the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, when the game was already over and the participants dispersed, two men entered the base. After waiting for the official in the parking lot, they opened fire with pistols. The driver-guard accompanying Kozlov managed to close the official with himself, and was immediately killed on the spot.

The first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kozlov, was not legally entitled to state security, but he could use the security of the Bank of Russia. "In accordance with the law on state security, the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank is not provided with state security," Federal Service protection (FSO).

The Vulcan-5 plan was announced in Moscow and the region. Law enforcement agencies are looking for criminals. According to preliminary data, there are two suspects. The Moscow prosecutor's office opened a criminal case into the attempted murder of Andrei Kozlov. "The criminal case was initiated under article 30 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempted murder) and under article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder)," said a spokesman for the press service of the Moscow prosecutor's office.

The case of the murder of Andrei Kozlov accepted for proceedings The General Prosecutor's Office, law enforcement officials said. "This is due to the great public outcry and the complexity of the investigation into the murder of Kozlov," the source said.

The prosecutor's office is working out all versions of what happened, including the version related to Kozlov's professional activities, said a spokesman for the press service. Sources close to the investigation told Interfax that "this crime is obviously a contract murder."

Andrei Kozlov has repeatedly attacked the interests of unscrupulous financiers as part of his work, the Minister of Finance told reporters on Thursday Alexey Kudrin... "Kozlov has recently been involved in bank supervision work, his work ended with the revocation of licenses from banks that were involved in money laundering and financial crimes," Kudrin said.

According to him, the deceased "was at the forefront of the fight against this kind of crimes." “Over the past few years, several dozen licenses from unscrupulous banks have been revoked,” Kudrin said.

"He was a very brave and honest man," the finance minister said.

The assassination of Andrei Kozlov is "a blatant challenge to the entire Russian government," the chairman of the board of RAO UES of Russia said in a statement. Anatoly Chubais distributed by the energy holding's press service. "This is the case when the authorities are obliged to respond harshly, promptly and mercilessly," Chubais said.

According to him, Kozlov was "an absolutely honest, principled and absolutely non-commercial person." "He is one of the most professional people in the entire Russian banking sector," Chubais said in a statement.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Security Committee Mikhail Grishankov(fraction " United Russia") believes that the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kozlov, who died as a result of the assassination attempt, was inconvenient for many." I express my condolences to the family and loved ones of Andrei Kozlov - this is the person who defended state interests and was inconvenient for many, "said Grishankov ...

"In this case, we are dealing with a contract murder, and this is one of the most serious crimes in recent years. Kozlov spoke out very harshly against those structures that are engaged in" cashing out "- tens of billions of dollars are cashed out in Moscow every year," Grishankov said.

According to him, "this is a powerful criminal business, which has a very serious cover not only among criminals, but also among law enforcement agencies." In this regard, the parliamentarian believes that Kozlov, with his tough stance, could become a stumbling block for those involved in this business.

"It is a matter of honor for our special services to solve this crime, since it comes about a person who defended state interests, "Grishankov said.

For his part, the head of the State Duma security committee Vladimir Vasiliev stated that solving the murder of Kozlov should be task number 1 for law enforcement agencies. "This is a matter of the prestige of our law enforcement agencies - solving this crime should be task number 1," Vasiliev said.

He noted that the public, including State Duma deputies, will closely monitor the progress of the investigation and its results. “We have lost a person who did a lot to make banking discipline a reality in our country,” Vasiliev emphasized. According to him, Kozlov fought hard against the shadow criminal component in the financial sector.

Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Credit Institutions and Financial Markets Vladislav Reznik stated that "there can be no commercial motives for the assassination attempt, and there are none." "This is an attempt to murder a civil servant," the deputy said. Reznik expressed hope for Kozlov's recovery and noted that this crime should be solved, and the criminals should be punished, no matter how long the investigation took.

In turn, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Credit Institutions and Financial Markets Anatoly Aksakov said: "Naturally, this may be due to his professional activities. He took a tough stance towards banks that cashed, laundered money or engaged in other illegal activities," the deputy explained.

Aksakov recalled that when there was a selection to the deposit insurance system (DIS), conflicts arose between banks that were not included in the insurance system, on the one hand, and the Central Bank, represented by Kozlov, who oversaw the acceptance of banks in DIS, on the other. Meanwhile, even then, Kozlov did not use personal protection, said Aksakov, adding that he had not heard from Kozlov that he mentioned the threats against him. “I still hope that this is not related to his professional activities,” the deputy stressed.

According to the President of the Association of Regional Banks of Russia Alexander Murychev Kozlov oversaw "the most important area" in the banking system - this is supervision, and "our society is still very uncivilized." "Kozlov is one of the most active and courageous people who take responsibility and strive to change the banking system and make it work," Murychev said.

In turn, the head of the All-Russian Union of Insurers, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Alexander Koval believes that the attack on Kozlov is related to his professional activities. "On the one hand, Kozlov's name has never been associated with anything dubious, on the other hand, he is known in Russian financial market as a person with principles, who strictly followed the line of supervision of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, that is, the state line, "said Koval.

Vitaly Naishul, president of the Institute for National Model of Economics, told the online magazine ej.ru: “This is my former close acquaintance. I have known him since the early 90s. I can say that this is one of the best Russian officials I have known in my life. He is a very conscientious person. This opinion does not apply to the present moment, but to the assessment of Andrei Kozlov's personality as such. "

Leonid Grigoriev, President of the Institute of Energy and Finance, believes that the motive for the assassination of the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation was his professional activity. "Kozlov himself was a very quiet, family man. In his personal sphere he could not have any problems. He was responsible for licensing and closing" bad "banks. Probably, the story with the banks ruined him. Most likely, someone was badly hurt here. . I am almost sure that this was the reason for the murder, "- said Grigoriev.

Biography of Andrey Kozlov

Andrey Kozlov was born on January 6, 1965 in Moscow. In 1989 he graduated from the Faculty of International Economic Relations of the Moscow Financial Institute. Fluent in English and German. Married, father of three children.

Labor activity:
1982-1983 - A student at the Moscow Financial Institute.
1983-1985 - Service in the Armed Forces of the USSR.
1985-1989 - Continuation of studies at the Moscow Financial Institute.
1989-1990 - Senior economist, expert of the II category of the Monetary and Economic Department of the State Bank of the USSR.
1990-1991 - economist, expert of the 1st category, leading expert, head of the department of methodology of stock transactions of the Securities Department of the State Bank of the USSR.
1991-1992 - Head of the Department for Operations with Securities of the Main Directorate for Regulation of Cash Circulation of the Central Bank Russian Federation.
1992-1995 - Head of the Securities Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
1995-1996 - Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation - Director of the Securities Department.
1996-1997 - Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
1997-1999 - First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
1999-2000 - Chairman of the Board of CJSC "Bank Russian Standard".
2000 - Private consultant on the problems of reengineering of banking business processes.
2000-2001 - General manager company "World of AEROFLOT".
2001-2002 - Managing Director of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (USA)
April 2002 - First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

On the night of July 19-20, 1995, in the Istra district of the Moscow region, the president of the Yugorsky bank, the vice-president of the Union of Oil Industrialists, Oleg Kantor, was killed, ITAR-TASS reminds.

In February 1996, Andrey Butenko, deputy chairman of the board of Gradn-Invest Bank, was assassinated in Moscow.

On June 13, 1996, the chairman of the board was killed in Moscow commercial bank"Siberian-Moscow Bank" Valery Stepanov.

In June 1996, an attempt was made on the life of the Chairman of the Council of the National Credit Bank, the former head of National Fund sports of Russia Boris Fedorov.

On September 11, 1996, an attempt was made on the life of the former vice-president of Promstroybank Stanislav Dyagtyarev in Moscow.

At the end of October 1996, an attempt was made on the life of the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Bank for Reconstruction and Development Vladimir Sterlikov.

On January 14, 1997, Yuri Repin, Chairman of the Board of the Kutuzovsky Commercial Bank, was assassinated in Moscow.

On July 22, 1997, unidentified persons fired at the apartment of the chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Sergei Dubinin, no one was injured.

On January 20, 1998, in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the president of Kamchatrybbank, Mikhail Dyachenko, was attacked. Unknown people shot him twice, the appearance of bystanders saved the banker's life.

On February 6, 1998, Dmitry Levchenko, chairman of the board of the New Moscow Bank, was killed in Moscow.

On April 15, 1999, Sergey Khrabrov, one of the leaders of the city Bank for Reconstruction and Development, was killed in St. Petersburg.

On June 3, 1999, an attempt was made on the life of Vladimir Tkachev, former vice-president of the Balchug bank, in Moscow. He was hospitalized with serious injuries.

On the night of November 16-17, 1999, Sergey Belov, chairman of the board of Intersvyazbank, was killed in Moscow.

On January 26, 2001, an attempt was made on the life of Aydar Katyuzhansky, the former chairman of the board of Metropol Bank, in Moscow. As a result of the explosion, the banker was seriously injured and was hospitalized.

On March 14, 2002, Oleg Belousov, co-owner and member of the board of directors of the commercial bank "Uniastrum", was seriously wounded in Moscow.

On July 3, 2002, Pavel Shcherbakov, chairman of the board of directors of a large financial group Alphabet, was killed in Moscow.

On November 6, 2002, the director was killed in St. Petersburg management company Industrial and Construction Bank Leonid Davidenko.

On February 23, 2004, Igor Brovkov, chairman of the board of directors of the Centurion bank, was killed in the Moscow region.

On May 12, 2004, an attempt was made on the life of Konstantin Gaenko, Deputy Director of the Siberian Bank of Sberbank of the Russian Federation, in Novosibirsk.

On October 16, 2005, Alexander Slesarev, the former owner of Sodbiznesbank and Credittrast, was killed in the Moscow region.

The investigation is over. Forget it.
September 13 will mark exactly one year since the assassination of the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia Andrei Kozlov. On January 11, 2007, on the eve of the 285th anniversary of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, Yuri Chaika announced the disclosure of the entire criminal chain - from the perpetrators to the ordering party of the murder. The banking community does not share this version and are absolutely sure: the one who is called the main customer is not such. Bankers are not just guessing - many are convinced, but afraid to publicly declare that completely different people are behind the murder of Kozlov. And this is not the banker Alexei Frenkel. The New Times, having collected different opinions, offers a version of who could benefit from the death of the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank.

The last football
- Andrey Kozlov -

Andrei Kozlov was not going to go to the sports complex "Spartak" on Oleniy Val Street, where employees of the Central Bank play football every Wednesday. In any case, football was not on his schedule for the evening of September 13, 2006. Kozlov decided to go to the game at the very last moment: he loved football, but there was absolutely no time left for it, and the “tsebesh” environments on Oleny Val most often passed without him.

I decided literally at the last minute, and only people from Kozlov's inner circle could know about it - a couple of colleagues with whom he met that day. According to The New Times, even the deputy chairman’s secretary did not know about the boss’s plans. But there was another event on the schedule, and Kozlov did not want to miss it and did not miss it: a meeting was held in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the DISCOUNT bank case. The same bank "DISCONT", which, at the insistence of Kozlov, at the end of August, two weeks before the murder, had its license revoked, and on September 8, five days before the murder, a criminal case was opened against the management of this bank under a number of articles of the Criminal Code. including money laundering and withdrawal of funds abroad bypassing established by law rules.

According to The New Times, the killers could find out about Kozlov's unexpected decision to play football, which ended with three bullets for him (in the neck, stomach and head) in two ways: either they bugged him mobile phone, or received information directly from a source from the inner circle of the deputy chairman of the Central Bank. As you know, certain guest workers from Ukraine were named as the perpetrators of the murder (they were detained a month later): it is difficult to imagine that they had the means of tapping the telephone of the Central Bank deputy chairman. According to the investigation, not one of them worked in law enforcement agencies or security structures: two - residents of Lugansk, previously convicted of robbery and car theft, made a living in Moscow, the third, also from Lugansk, worked in the capital in a restaurant. It is also obvious that they did not have their own sources at the top of the Central Bank. Consequently, someone brought the performers - in an extremely short time, he warned that the "client" will leave the sports complex on Olenyi Val just today and at this very hour in the evening. The place for the murder was almost ideal: the complex, located on an area of ​​two hectares, on one side borders on a forest, on the other - on a vacant lot and an uncrowded Yauza embankment, around a metal fence, through which it was not difficult to get through. A gas pistol "Baikal" was found at the scene of the crime, converted for firing live ammunition. The accuracy of hitting from such a weapon in the dark (they shot at Kozlov at about half past nine in the evening) required special skills: the shooting was done by professionals. “The assassin did not have to be Rambo or possess the skills of 'Macedonian shooting', but he is definitely a person who knows weapons well and often deals with them. They could have been ordinary guest workers, but for this they had to be specially trained and trained, ”says State Duma deputy and foreign intelligence colonel in reserve Gennady Gudkov, owner of the Oskort security company.

Appointed guilty

120 days after the murder of Andrei Kozlov, on January 11, 2007, in the morning news bulletin of two central television channels, the main customer of the murder was named - the banker Aleksey Frenkel. In the banking community, the news was greeted with surprise. It was hard to believe that a gifted mathematician, almost a child prodigy (he went through high school in nine years instead of ten), a graduate of the economics department of Moscow State University, who graduated with honors, a boy from a family of university teachers could turn out to be a cold-blooded organizer of the murder. Everything that was known about him before the sensational media report did not fit well with the charges brought against him. “Either he lost his mind, or he was framed,” said people who knew Frenkel well.

True, the banker Frenkel, speaking in investigative jargon, had a "motive": three months before the murder, the license was revoked from the VIP-bank, which belonged to Frenkel, on grounds of violation of Law No. 115 "On combating the legalization of proceeds from crime." , in other words, for money laundering. That VIPbank was dealing with dirty financial transactions, the banking community also knew. In addition, Frenkel did not like Kozlov and publicly threw thunder and lightning at him. “Frenkel, of course, could publicly say something like“ soon he (Andrei Kozlov. - The New Times) will end, ”but, firstly, he said it openly, and secondly, most likely, he meant his possible non-reappointment to the post of deputy chairman of the Central Bank, ”a senior official who worked for the Bank of Russia for ten years said in an interview with The New Times. As follows from the materials of the criminal case (protocol of interrogation of one of the witnesses, volume 22, sheets 133-137), at the beginning of April 2006, in a circle of several persons, Frenkel said the following: “Soon Kozlov will not be there, and many will want to jump on his bones, even in the Central Bank, and we will resolve all our issues ... "As it became known later, on April 19, 2006, the State Duma extended the term of office of Andrei Kozlov as first deputy chairman, despite the fact that in banking circles for several months there were rumors about his imminent departure from Central Bank.

The item cannot be returned.

The charge against Alexei Frenkel of the premeditated murder of Andrei Kozlov - both at the stage of the banker's arrest and at the stage of the completion of the investigation - was based on the testimony of Liana Askerova 1, accused of complicity in organizing the murder. Askerova was interrogated on January 10, 2007, and on January 17, on the basis of the interrogation protocol, Frenkel was presented

charge - no dates and exact times. “In the period from April 20, 2006 to May 2006, A.E. Frenkel. turned to Askerova L.B. with a request to find persons who would have committed the murder of Kozlov ... A few days later Frenkel handed Askerova an envelope containing Kozlov's photographs and information about his alleged place of residence, as well as information about his personal vehicles. " However, after 2.5 months, Askerova completely retracted her testimony, claiming that she was subjected to physical and psychological pressure. “On the night of January 10-11, 2007, all medications necessary for treatment, including painkillers, were taken away from me. Postoperative elastic bandages were removed from me, which were extremely necessary for me after the operation ... I did not know my rights, they were not explained to me. Due to the fact that this happened for more than 7 hours, I was tired, I was completely indifferent to everything that was happening, and I signed the protocol automatically, without reading it at all, ”Askerova said during interrogation on April 4, 2007. However, the refusal of the main witness for the prosecution from his testimony, on which the Frenkel case was based, did not in the least change the investigators' confidence that it was he who had "ordered" Kozlov, avenging the revocation of the license from VIP Bank. The investigation into the case was completed. The first court session is expected to take place on November 13.

Did the investigation have other versions of the murder of Andrei Kozlov? Were. But they remained in the old criminal case, which now does not seem to apply to Frenkel and six other suspects. The case of the former chairman of the board of directors of VIP-Bank was separated into an independent case on May 21, 2007. In the old case, however, according to lawyers, a lot of important things remained: for example, personal belongings confiscated from Frenkel during a search, as well as materials from interrogations of witnesses conducted shortly after the tragedy. The banker's lawyers do not have access to these materials. “There are two reasons for this,” said Igor Trunov, the accused banker's lawyer. - Firstly, the investigators concealed most of the alternative versions of Kozlov's murder, including the Austrian one (The New Times wrote about this in detail in No. 15 of May 21, 2007), and also deprived Frenkel of any opportunity to prove his innocence. Among those remaining in the old case was a computer database in which my client kept a detailed report on all his actions and movements: where he ate, what time, in which restaurant, how much he spent, what he paid, when he went to the theater, what meetings took place, etc. etc., - and this is all important from the point of view of an alibi. The second reason why the old case has not been closed is the incredible power this case gives in terms of operational activities. The investigation team can now completely calmly wiretap, conduct searches or spy on any representative of the banking and financial community for their own purposes. Well, what else? All the killers have been found, who else to look for? "

Know the enemy by sight

The charges against Frenkel indicate two possible motives for the murder - personal hostility to Kozlov and the revocation of the license from his VIP bank on June 16, 2006. The lawyers dispute both the motives. First, from the beginning of 2006 until the murder of Andrei Kozlov, licenses were revoked from more than forty banks. Another 219 banks, largely due to the insistence of Andrei Kozlov, who headed the Central Bank's department for banking supervision, were unable to join the deposit insurance system. By the way, experts banking business claim that the murder of Kozlov could not solve the problems with the revocation of the license from the VIP-bank: it was cheaper for $ 2 - 3 million to buy new bank and continue to launder money through it. By the way, Frenkel challenged the revocation of the license from his bank in the Arbitration Court. “Frenkel is, of course, a weirdo, but not crazy to go for murder, having in his hands other tools to solve his business problems. Or has he lost his mind? " - say people who know Frenkel from financial circles, including from specialized committees of the State Duma.

The version about Frenkel's personal hostility to Kozlov is also disputed by his lawyers. They argue that it was not Andrei Kozlov who should have been the object of his revenge. Thus, the materials of the same criminal case (volume 17, sheet 126) contain a statement by the current deputy chairman of the Central Bank, Viktor Melnikov, regarding Frenkel: "The bank of this young man will never enter the insurance system." In the same document (volume 17, sheet 133) it is stated that "VIPbank brought information about extortion to a number of Central Bank leaders, refused to pay, as a result it was decided not to let him into the deposit insurance system."

The words "brought the information" mean the following. Frenkel's lawyer, Sergei Grebenshchikov, claims that the accused told him in person that in June 2005, after a check was carried out in the VIP Bank by the Department economic security The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the banker was allegedly asked to pay $ 300 thousand "with the aim of a successful solution of the issue." The banker refused to pay and sent to central bank a fax complaint addressed to the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Viktor Melnikov, in which he stated the facts of extortion. Later, already in prison, Frenkel filed an application with the Prosecutor General's Office with a request to initiate a criminal case on the fact of extorting money from him for the right to enter the deposit insurance system. The lawyers also insist that Andrei Kozlov was not at all the source of "special irritation" for their client: in the transcript of the lawyer's speech in the Basmanny Court on August 9, 2007, with references to volumes and sheets of the criminal case, the name of Viktor Melnikov is mentioned four times, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia information on a number of banks, including VIP-bank. Lawyers are perplexed: why, then, if you believe the accusation, it was Andrei Kozlov who became the target of revenge on the part of their client?

Investigation ended: others
forget the version

As it became known to The New Times, the investigative group, led by the investigator of the Prosecutor General's Office Vladimir Khamitsky, considered at least three more alternative versions of the murder of Andrei Kozlov. It is not known why she only considered, but did not investigate. One of the versions: the murder of Andrei Kozlov is primarily associated with the revocation of the license from the DISCONT bank, through which high-ranking government officials transferred billions of dollars abroad. Recall that the Austrian Ministry of Internal Affairs conducted an investigation into Russian bank DISCOUNT and the Austrian bank Raiffeisen on the facts of money laundering: the case has already been transferred to the Austrian court (The New Times No. 15, 16 and 17).

Another version of the murder of Andrei Kozlov was connected with the banks Saturn 2 and Era, which also had their licenses revoked. According to some reports, there is an anonymous letter in the case materials, which indicates this connection.

Another version of the murder of Kozlov concerned the threats that came to the deputy chairman of the Central Bank: it seemed to be about one of the above-mentioned banks. According to one of the leaders of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in his testimony (volume 23, sheet 105), about a month and a half before his death, Kozlov showed a photo of the person who threatened him.

However, these versions remained versions and were not investigated, the lawyers say. All attempts by The New Times to contact representatives of the investigation team were in vain. Last week, the case was referred to investigative committee at the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia. The press secretary of the new department, Vladimir Markin, could not comment on the state of the old business today, referring to the first day of the committee's work. “It’s not burning for you, this is not an operational issue. Call back next week, now no one can tell you anything, ”Markin said in an interview with The New Times.

If you do not wash it off, you will not reap

Without exception, all representatives of the banking community, including former leaders The Central Bank, with whom the correspondents of The New Times met, are convinced: Frenkel has nothing to do with it, he was appointed guilty. Most are inclined to one version: the murder is due to the fact that Kozlov went too far in the fight against the so-called "money laundering" banking sector. “No banker would ever dare to order an official of this level,” says the former deputy chairman of the Central Bank, who did not want to disclose his name. - This was not allowed even in the gangster nineties. The murder could have been committed only by those who were absolutely sure that they would not be revealed. Today, only those who are somehow connected with the authorities can have such guarantees. "

“What is the point of killing Kozlov after the license has been revoked? - Asks in the past colleague of Andrei Kozlov in the Central Bank, and now a specialist in the market of large investments. - It's easier to buy the bank again and recoup the money in two months. The reason is different. Over the past few years (since the adoption of Federal Law No. 115 on combating money laundering. - The New Times), a curious picture has begun to emerge on the money laundering market. If earlier certain organized crime groups (organized criminal groups - The New Times) stood behind the laundering banks, now their place is increasingly taken by people from the FSB. They just come to a dirty bank and say: “You either sell us a stake, or give us a percentage of the income. Otherwise, you will not enter the insurance system or your license will be revoked. " It remains for the bank to either agree or leave this market altogether. " “Money has always been laundered - both in the nineties and now. This is a huge part of the Russian economy, and there is no getting away from it, - agrees former member government of the Russian Federation. "Now about a third of banks are engaged in this." “But only if earlier this was done by a variety of groups, now it is absolutely certain that there has been some kind of monopolization. The market now began to be “covered” primarily by people from the FSB, ”this well-informed expert asserts as well.

Whether it is so or not, but on banking market there is a tendency: if three or four years ago interest rate for money laundering or cashing was 1.5-2%, then in 2006-2007 it rose to an unimaginable 6-7%, and in some cases even up to 10%.

It is clear that prices rise when demand exceeds supply: monopolization of the money laundering market in the hands of those who, back in Soviet times, were called gate keepers (literally: "those who control the gate" to enter and exit the country), inevitably had to force prices fly up.

April 28, 2006 Arbitration court Moscow recognized the actions of the Central Bank of Russia, which refused to include Alexey Frenkel's VIP-bank in the deposit insurance system, illegal. In early June 2006, the Central Bank filed an appeal against the court's decision, but soon the temporary administration of the VIP Bank appointed by the Central Bank (after the license was revoked on June 16, 2006) withdrew its claim. On February 2, 2007, the Moscow Arbitration Court of Appeal also confirmed the legality of the revocation of the bank's license.

The editors know the names and surnames of the sources who provided information or expressed their versions of the murder of Andrei Kozlov.

____________________________
1 Liana Askerova is a co-owner of the Moscow restaurant Trish and the president of the Moscow Boxing Promotion Association.
2 With the participation of Kozlov, the Banking Supervision Committee of the Central Bank rejected Bank Saturn's applications for joining the deposit insurance system four times.

First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Andrey Kozlov. Two assassins were waiting for him near the Spartak football base and opened fire when Kozlov and the driver left the building. The driver Alexander Semyonov died on the spot. Doctors fought for the banker's life until the morning, but to no avail. Experts unambiguously associate the death of Andrei Kozlov with his professional activities. He was engaged in the revocation of licenses from unscrupulous banks and made a lot of ill-wishers. Strange, but with such a "firing squad" position, he was not entitled to the protection of state structures. And he did not use personal protection - he believed that nothing threatened him.

Shots fired during fireworks

On Wednesday evening, when the working day ended, the first deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, Andrei Kozlov, went to the Sokolniki district. There, on the field of the educational and sports complex "Spartak" (USK), a football "corporate match" was to take place - the employees of the Central Bank played among themselves. Andrei Kozlov also played, and in the attack.

The game began at seven in the evening. The ball was chased in an indoor arena. Until half past eight. Half an hour later, Andrei Kozlov left the arena doors and headed towards a dark blue Mercedes parked nearby. His driver, Alexander Semyonov, was walking beside him. Despite the fact that Kozlov held one of the leading posts of the Central Bank, he did not have personal protection (he was not entitled to security by the FSO), and Semyonov often became his only escort. At that moment, the explosions of fireworks were heard.

They celebrated something, threw a corporate party, - the girls from the student hostel, which is located on the territory of Spartak, told Izvestia. - We just returned to the hostel and heard the fireworks clapping with might and main. We rarely have such parties, apparently, respectable people walked.

It was at this moment that Kozlov got out and got into the Mercedes. From around the corner of the arena, two ran up to the Mercedes. There is not a single lantern in this place, and no one paid attention to the approaching silhouettes in the dark. The territory of the sports complex is completely planted with trees, and all the paths have long been overgrown with thick grass taller than human height.

With a quick step one of the killers approached the window of Kozlov's car and literally shot twice in the head of the banker at point-blank range. At this time, the second went straight to the driver, who was putting the chief's bags in the trunk.

The killers fired from pistols with silencers. However, the silencer of one of the assassins was blown off, and he continued to shoot openly. But among the clapping of fireworks, only Alexander Semyonov paid attention to the shots. He looked out from behind the trunk and was immediately shot in the chest. With the last of his strength, Semyonov tried to run back to the sports complex - it was only a few meters to the entrance. But the killer shot him in the back. Semyonov died before the doctors arrived.

The killers managed to hide in the forest park, in the vicinity of the Deer Ponds. It was not difficult at all. Despite the fact that there are two official entrances to the territory of "Spartak" and each of them is guarded, they easily went into the thick of trees. The route of departure was worked out to the smallest detail - there is a large hole in the fence nearby, the path through it leads to the forest park. From there - a few hundred meters to Oleniy Val street and Bogorodsky highway. But the service dogs took the trail only up to the fence. Further - wet grass, and the trail was lost.

Injuries incompatible with life

Literally a minute later, Andrei Kozlov's colleagues and comrades poured out onto the porch of the arena. Someone called an ambulance from a mobile, which arrived 10 minutes later. Doctors immediately took away Andrei Kozlov, who was still alive, and took him to the intensive care unit of the 33rd city hospital. The second car arrived a little later and took the body of Alexander Semyonov. He worked with Kozlov for several years, and professional relations have long since turned into friendly ones.

I'm shocked. I have known the driver who drove Kozlov for a long time, ”one of the drivers of the elite garage of the Central Bank told Izvestia. - He worked with Kozlov for a long time, and they had a good relationship. I have no idea how the criminals managed to find out the route of the car.

The sports complex was cordoned off, and a plan-interception "Vulcan-5" was immediately introduced in the city. But in hot pursuit, the killers could not be detained. At the crime scene, forensic experts found four cartridges from a Makarov pistol and a detached silencer. And 300 meters from the scene of the crime, two pistols were found in the tall grass near the fence - a homemade and converted Baikal pistol.

In the 33rd hospital, Andrei Kozlov was immediately put on the operating table on the verge of life and death. There was no time to hesitate.

We carried out a complex operation that lasted three hours, ”Professor Nikolai Nikolayev, deputy chief physician of the hospital for surgery, told Izvestia. - But he had injuries incompatible with life. Through wounds, the centers of the brain were affected, so he had no chance of survival initially. We tried to prolong his life.

After the operation, Kozlov was transferred to intensive care, but at half past five the banker's heart stopped. He died without regaining consciousness.

On Thursday, pools of blood remained at the entrance to USK "Spartak". Kozlov's Mercedes was parked nearby. Investigative actions continued on the territory of "Spartak". No one was allowed to enter the arena, and the "official" passages were reinforced by officers of private security companies and soldiers of the internal troops. Meanwhile, the territory, as well as the day before, could be easily entered through the "killer's loophole".

Near the building of the Central Bank on Neglinnaya, where Andrei Kozlov worked, a state of general depression was felt. Bank employees, going out for a smoke break, discussed the incident in an undertone. However, to all questions about the possible reasons for the murder, they only shrugged their shoulders.

Maria Rogacheva, Oleg Zhunusov

Izvestia version:

The banker died for the money of Sodbiznesbank and Credittrust

The last major scandal with a criminal outcome - the death of a banker - is associated with the revocation of licenses from Sodbiznesbank and. Andrei Kozlov was directly related to this process. About a year ago, the owner of these banks. It is possible that the shots at Andrei Kozlov are links in the same chain.

Sodbiznesbank's problems began in May 2004. The bank's management was accused of cashing money intended to ransom the kidnapped general director of OJSC KamAZ-Metallurgy Viktor Faber and deputy director of this company for economics Natalya Starodubtseva (they were killed, although the kidnappers received a ransom). The bank's license was revoked, but the bank's management did not allow law enforcement agencies to enter "their territory" for two weeks. This required a special operation with the participation of riot police. During the audit, it turned out that many of the bank's assets were withdrawn, including to the affiliated bank "Credittrust".

Credittrust's license was also revoked. Its liquidation took place with scandals. According to some reports, assets worth 5.78 billion rubles (about $ 200 million) were withdrawn from the bank. $ 20 million was transferred to the National Capital Bank. In early October 2005, a letter dated December 2004 was published. It was signed by the owner of NK-Bank Dmitry Plytnik, who admitted the fact of withdrawing the assets of Credittrust and expressed fears for his life. The swimmer is still on the run, the National Capital Bank was declared bankrupt (the powers of his provisional administration were terminated on February 1, 2006). It is curious that the bankruptcy of the bank took place under the control of the State Deposit Insurance Agency.

More than 700 million rubles (more than $ 26 million) are still hanging in Sodbiznesbank, Valery Miroshnikov, deputy director of the Deposit Insurance Agency, told Izvestia on Thursday, despite the fact that 70% of deposits were returned to individuals. Money from Sodbiznesbank was withdrawn not only to "Credittrust", but also to other banks. Now this is being done by the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. As for NK-Bank, the bulk of the money was withdrawn from there by lending to enterprises. That is, the bank gave good amounts against "bad" bills.

We would venture to suggest that not everyone was ready to come to terms with the loss of money in Sodbiznesbank and Kredittrust. The unofficial owner of these financial and credit institutions (and this was admitted even by the leaders of the Association of Russian Banks) was businessman Alexander Slesarev. On October 16 last year, a few days after the publication of Plytnik's letter, Slesarev and his family were driving to the Moscow region along the Kashirskoye highway. He was overtaken by an Audi without license plates, from which machine gun fire and pistol shots were heard. Alexander Slesarev, his wife Natalya and 15-year-old daughter Elizabeth were killed, their seven-year-old niece was seriously injured. It is curious that, as Izvestia found out, at the beginning of this year the investigation into the murder was suspended due to the impossibility of finding the killer, but was resumed just a month ago.

The murder of Slesarev was the first criminal showdown in the banking community for a very long time. It is possible that the attempt on Andrei Kozlov's life was organized by the same people. The fact is that Andrei Kozlov was directly involved in the liquidation of these banks and the search for their assets. In addition, the said Deposit Insurance Agency is his brainchild. It is possible that after the bankruptcies of Sodbiznesbank and Credittrust, some people who had serious money in the bank tried to get it directly from Alexander Slesarev. The negotiations were not crowned with success - Slesarev referred to the Central Bank and Andrei Kozlov personally, offering to find out the fate of the money from him. It is possible that after the murder of Slesarev, these people did just that ...

Vladimir Demchenko, Alexander Andryukhin

He was not forgiven for "lifelong excommunication"

No one in the Central Bank had as many enemies as Andrei Kozlov. When law enforcement agencies compile a list of those to whom he crossed the road in recent years, it will take more than a dozen pages. “Many people hated him,” one of Kozlov's colleagues told Izvestia, “those from whom he revoked their licenses, whom he did not accept into the deposit insurance system ... Andrey was generally a tough and uncompromising person.” After talking with Andrei Kozlov's colleagues and representatives of banks, Izvestia clarified several of the most acute conflicts, due to which the banker's enemies could decide to eliminate it.

The first version. Lifetime weaning

Just a few days ago, at a banking forum in Sochi, Andrei Kozlov announced a radical initiative. He offered to disqualify bankers for life, who once "spotted" in money laundering. The fact is that the owners of banks whose licenses have been revoked, for example, for illegal "cashing out", most often after a short time acquire a new bank, in which they do the same. To quickly identify the "highlighted" bankers, Kozlov proposed an innovation: to oblige audit companies to report to the Central Bank if their clients (banks, companies and related individuals) are noticed in questionable cases. Cash-out is a multi-billion dollar business, often associated with crime, and Kozlov's initiative to ban it caused, for obvious reasons, dissatisfaction on the part of deputies, bankers and auditors.

Second version. Revoking licenses

Since the beginning of this year, Andrei Kozlov has launched an unprecedented campaign to revoke licenses from "problem" banks. The number of revoked licenses has doubled compared to last year, and in a number of cases licenses are revoked precisely for participation in legalization of illegal income. Moreover, in the coming years, Kozlov promised to liquidate more than 400 small banks in order to "enlarge" the Russian banking system. Naturally, not everyone in banking circles liked this.

Moreover, the process of revoking the license was going on permanently: for example, the last case was dated September 8th. Commercial "Investkombank BELKOM" was punished, among other things, for violation of the provisions of the law "On Counteraction to Legalization (Laundering) of Criminally Obtained Incomes and Financing of Terrorism". Under the order, as always, is the signature of Andrei Kozlov.

Third version. Deposit insurance

Andrey Kozlov's favorite brainchild is the deposit insurance system, created after last year's summer banking crisis. It is interesting that Kozlov's enemies called him the culprit of this very crisis. The fact is that shortly before the memorable events, he announced the existence of a kind of "black list" of banks that are in a critical financial situation. It was not announced which banks exactly, and frightened clients began to en masse transfer their funds from private to state banks. As a result, several large banks went bankrupt (read more about this on the same page).

Andrey Kozlov was instructed to settle the consequences of the banking crisis, and soon the Deposit Insurance Agency was created under his control, which had the right, at its discretion, to accept banks into the system or not to accept them. The agency's work sparked numerous protests from those who were not accepted. Bankers even talked about the corruption of this structure, but no confirmation of this has yet been received.

Version four. Household

Despite his impeccable reputation, Andrei Kozlov could well have become a victim of personal hostility or domestic quarrels. A young attractive man, he led an active social life. And although Kozlov's colleagues are sure that the work is to blame, the investigation will undoubtedly have to “work through” his personal contacts.

The youngest in the Central Bank

The biography of the 41-year-old banker Andrei Kozlov was truly stellar. He was only 30 years old when he became deputy chairman of the Central Bank. An unprecedented case for this very conservative department. Kozlov, until the last moment, remained the youngest on the board of directors of the Central Bank.

The future banker graduated from the Faculty of International Economic Relations of the Moscow Financial Institute in 1989 and immediately went to work at the Central Bank. There, a super career awaited him - in one year he went from an economist to the head of the department of methodology of stock operations of the Securities Department of the State Bank of the USSR. A year later, he headed the Securities Department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and in 1995 became Deputy Head of the Central Bank Sergei Dubinin. In this position, he became one of the founders of the "GKO pyramid" that led to the 1998 crisis. It was because of this young, promising banker that the first serious blow of fate was overtaken.

During the 1998 crisis, Kozlov personally promised Russian citizens to keep their deposits in banks if they transfer them to Sberbank. This appeal not only precipitated the collapse of the country's banking system, but also led to the loss of savings of hundreds of thousands of Russians. On transferring accounts due to the undervalued exchange rate, they lost more than half of their savings. Soon, the Central Bank recognized this measure as erroneous, and the head of the Central Bank, Sergei Dubinin, together with Andrei Kozlov, were fired.

The young, talented banker quickly found work in commercial structures. He headed the Russian Standard Bank, AEROFLOT World, and the American Financial Services Volunteer Corps. In April 2002, the new head of the Central Bank, Sergei Ignatiev, invited Kozlov back, making him his first deputy.

Andrey Reut, Anna Kaledina

Which banks Andrey Kozlov revoked licenses from in 2006

Bank "Archekas", KB "OTBank", "United Transport Bank", Bank "Transregional Financial Company", "Galichkombank", "Zhilstroyekonbank", Bank "Orion", "Roskomveteranbank", Bank "Capital Capital", "Marketingbank", Delna Bank, BBC Di-Bank, Panemstroybank, Regional Perspective Bank, Krasnoyarsk Social Commercial Bank, Joint-Stock Commercial Bank of Investments and Technologies, Oil Bank, Alliance Bank capital "," RTB-Bank ", Bank" Russian Financial Traditions "," Intersectoral Industrial Bank "," RFO Bank ", Bank" Petrovka "," European Settlement Bank "," Mosprombank "," VIP-Bank "," Ifko -bank "," Stroybank ", Bank" Exiton "," EAFA-Bank ", Bank" Union-Trade "," Federal Development Bank ", Bank" Interkontakt "," Mosoblinvestbank ", Bank" Fonon "," Bank of Investments and lending "," Univerbank "," Federal Industrial Bank ", Bank" Centurion "," OTBank ", Bank" TFK ", Bank" Discount ", Bank" Neman "," Investkombank BELKOM "and non-bank credit organizations" Inkabor "and "National Settlement and Credit Society".

Summoned everyone to play football

Andrey Kozlov was very fond of football. It was he who created the Central Bank team and regularly invited his colleagues to play. In friendly matches with colleagues from other government agencies, Kozlov was the team's captain.

When, after the 1998 crisis, Andrei Kozlov left the Central Bank, he gathered his employees and gave them a small show. "Now you will see something that you have never seen," he said with a smile and ... knocked over a glass of champagne. Everyone gasped: no one had ever seen Kozlov drink or, say, light a cigarette. The Central Bank simply did not have a more "correct" employee.

In the 1990s, when Andrei Kozlov was already deputy chairman of the Central Bank, one of his colleagues, deputy chairmen, accidentally found out that he was living with his family in a small two-room Khrushchev building. Although by that time several of Kozlov's subordinates had already received new service apartments. The question was put to the head of the Central Bank Dubinin, and they found an apartment.

In recent years, Andrei Kozlov has become a more secular person, he is often seen on banking forums and get-togethers. However, at the same time, very few could call themselves his friends.

“Sometimes incompatible things were combined in him - he was completely childishly receptive and at the same time a principled professional in the implementation of supervision and regulation activities,” said one of Andrei Kozlov's colleagues.

Although he was considered a workaholic, Andrei Kozlov had a strong family - a wife, two sons (18 and 12 years old) and a daughter (8 years old).

Alexander Khandruev, ex-deputy chairman of the Central Bank:

He was very fond of playing football, although he did not do it very well. I was just very reckless, both in life and in work. Everything that happened, of course, is terrible, and this is a blow not only to the family, the consequences can be negative for banks as well: repression and strengthening of state control. It was always open, transparent, without a double bottom. If he promised something, he definitely did it. His words were never at odds with deeds.

Alexander Murychev, head of the Association of Regional Banks:

This event can throw us back 10 years. He made a huge personal contribution to the development of a civilized banking system. Thanks to his talent, he was able to create a supervisory block close to international standards. In terms of personal qualities, he was uncompromising towards those who violated norms and ethics. And at the same time, he was often boyishly gullible. Despite the fact that he was a very young man who held a high position for more than one year, he knew how to negotiate with everyone. Of course, he stepped on corns to many, often said things that could not have been said.