Vladimir Ashurkov

Vladimir Ashurkov   (spook, politician)
Born	15 February 1972 Moscow
Nationality	Russian
Alma mater	Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Member of	Integrity Initiative/Cluster/UK/Inner Core
Interests	Alexey Navalny
Alexey Navalny team member caught several times playing footsie with British intelligence services

Vladimir Lvovich Ashurkov is an associate of the Russian politician Alexey Navalny, where he is "quietly enlisting financial backing from the country’s business elite". He is also executive director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).

In November 2018, hackers of the Anonymous group published documents of the British project Integrity Initiative; among others, Ashurkov's surname appeared in the lists of participants. In the early 2010s, he also was filmed by Russian intelligence asking for money and support from the British embassy in Moscow.

Early Life

He was born on February 15, 1972 in Moscow into a family of engineers who worked in closed research institutes of the military-industrial complex. After graduation, he entered the Faculty of Physical and Quantum Electronics of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. While in his third year, he entered in parallel to the evening two-year business program of the American Institute of Business and Economics. Under this program, he completed a summer internship abroad at Pepsico. He graduated from the institute in 1995 with a degree as engineer-physicist.

After graduation, he won a Muskie grant to study at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. During his studies, he took an internship at the Moscow office of the Boston Consulting Group. In 1996 he received an MBA diploma.

Career

From 1997 to 1999, he held the position of Deputy Director of the Investment Banking Services Department at the investment bank Renaissance Capital. From 1999 to 2001 he was the financial director of the Seaport of St. Petersburg, Russia's principal port. In 2001-2003, he was President of the National Container Company of the Seaport of St. Petersburg. From September 2006 to February 2012, he was Director of Asset Management and Control at CTF Holdings Ltd, the managing company of the Alfa Group Consortium. Ashurkov was asked to resign from his post at Alfa Bank over his involvement with Navalny. At the same time, Alfa is also one of the main funders of his Foundation.

According to Ashurkov, he has always been interested in politics and public administration. In 2009 Ashurkov "came across Navalny's blog " and offered him his help in organizing anti - corruption activities. Before leaving Alfa Group, in his free time Ashurkov “wrote letters, worked with documents, met with different people, discussed strategies” . In February 2012, it became known that Ashurkov became one of the first sponsors of the registered non-profit organization Anti-Corruption Fund: Ashurkov donated 300,000 rubles to the fund.

British Intelligence

In April 2014, Ashurkov left Russia. On July 30, 2014, he was put on the federal wanted list in the case of fraud with the financing of Navalny's election campaign for the mayor of Moscow. In July 2014, he applied for political asylum in the UK in connection with the persecution in the Russian Federation. In February 2015, he received asylum at the same time, the Basmanny Court arrested his common-law wife Alexandrina Markvo in absentia, whose firm Bureau 17 of the RF IC was accused of stealing several million budget funds during literary events.

The Russian Federal Security Service filmed him talking to the MI6 in Moscow in the early 2010s. In the recording, he asked James Ford, then Second Secretary for Political Affairs of the UK embassy in Russia, for cash and intelligence, and suggesting his anti-corruption work may benefit firms in London.

In the film, released on RT in 2021, Ashurkov stated “If we had more money, we would expand our team, of course,” adding that his goal of obtaining “a little money” like “10, 20 million dollars a year” would make a huge difference. “And this is not a big amount of money for people who have billions at stake. And that’s the message I am trying to project in my fundraising efforts and talking to people in the business community,” he said.

In addition to explaining the FBK’s financial needs, Ashurkov said it could use information provided by the British government, particularly the Serious Fraud Office, for its exposés. The agency “has access to a lot of information that would not be available to us, from British sources” on certain Russian people.

The Foundation’s stated goal is to expose alleged cases of corruption in Russia. While it is essentially a type of journalistic organisation, its work is ultimately tied to Navalny's aims gaining political power. Ashurkov outlined the organization’s activities as “mass protests, civil initiatives, propaganda, establishing contacts with the elite and explain to them that we are reasonable people and we are not going to demolish everything and take away their assets.”

The FBK’s activities would have benefited British business too, the activist said. “We will release a report on VTB bank [a major financial institution in Russia] in association with Henry Jackson Society [an Western intelligence services lobby group with an avowed anti-Russian agenda] in London,” he said. Allegations of corruption involving one of the largest Russian banks would “make the case that it represents a threat to European financial markets and their integrity because it is a significant player in Europe.”

The British diplomat did not commit to helping FBK during the conversation, citing the Russian legislation on foreign agents that was primed to come into force in November 2012.

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.