Date: October 17, 2024
For many years as a federal agent, I have worked financial crimes and organized crime cases, with most investigations concluding with indictments and convictions—some took many years to complete. However, currently, there is an urgent case that is being slowed down by numerous government institutions regarding the smuggling of sanctioned military parts to Russia through Brighton Beach, New York, and Westchester, New York. To fund the purchase of these semiconductors, which Russia is struggling to import for its drones, millions of dollars were laundered through numerous international/U.S. banks and hedge funds. For this case, we worked in coordination with the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, the Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority, FINTRAC in Canada, German intelligence, the Moldavian government, as well as NYPD, to gather the necessary evidence for urgent arrests and convictions. The group of five criminals is led by two men named Felix Zarotsky and Igor Ullis, two men of Russian origin with deep roots in Brighton Beach, New York.
To summarize as much as possible, Felix Zarotsky facilitated the movement of €278 million from Estonia to Danske Bank in Denmark, Nordea Bank in Finland, and Swedbank in Sweden (where the Swedish financial intelligence was first alerted). The funds were then sent to Canada through the Bank of Montreal and TD Bank before finally reaching U.S. banks. The funds were then placed in shell companies and other legitimate companies. (Note: TD Bank was recently hit with a record-breaking $3 billion fine over drug cartel and Russian money laundering, while Danske Bank was responsible for one of the world’s biggest money-laundering scandals in history that forced the Estonian government to close all its branches in Estonia.) In conjunction, Felix and Igor covertly set up the investment fund ‘Two Roads Partners,’ raising $400 million in less than 2 months, with the law firm ‘Kirkland & Ellis’ by its side serving as its fund counsel, intentionally not vetting these funds.
The semiconductors were purchased through AMD (a semiconductor company based in Santa Clara, California), transported to Brighton Beach, where Igor and Ullis are based, shipped out of the U.S. to Turkey, then to Russia. It is important to mention that this is not the first case where weapons components were smuggled out of Brighton Beach to Russia. In 2023, multiple Russian nationals have also been charged with smuggling weapons components to Russia.
The evidence we have is powerful, with 31 charges against Felix Zarotsky, Igor Ullis, and their accomplices. Yet the case has been shelved and left pending at the Eastern District of New York for 17 months, under the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace. We are told the delay is due to other U.S. institutions “helping,” as committees of law enforcement agencies can lead to delays. However, this is an obscene excuse for an urgent matter of this sort. The law enforcement agencies delaying the case are FINCEN, DHS, IRS, and others.
Sincerely,
A frustrated law enforcement officer.