Kathrine Frich
Escaping the firm grip of the Kremlin requires immense resources and perfect timing
When billions of dollars are on the line, high-profile targets must move incredibly fast. Now, one massive tech pioneer has managed to do exactly that.
A daring escape
Aleksandr Galitsky built a massive fortune as the founder of the prominent technology investment fund Almaz Capital. But his vast wealth recently made him a major target for state prosecutors.
He completely outwitted local security forces by fleeing the country before authorities could lock him down. A prosecutor recently revealed the shocking details during a fiery hearing inside a Moscow City Court.
The prominent billionaire reportedly used a Dutch passport to slip safely across the border into Belarus. Before his sudden disappearance, he successfully withdrew billions of rubles from his personal Gazprombank accounts, according to The Moscow Times cited by Onet.
Facing extreme charges
The prosecution was furious about the sudden vanishing act. A representative of the prosecutor’s office stated in court, “If Galicki considers himself a patriot, why did he, violating security measures, leave Russia on a Dutch passport and head for Belarus?”
Russian authorities formally branded the businessman and his entire investment fund as an extremist organization. They accuse the technology leader of directly financing the Ukrainian military.
Prosecutors claim that his fund sent over 50 million dollars to Ukrainian companies building advanced weapons and attack drones. They also allege the business intentionally stopped investing in domestic projects right after the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
Seizing the empire
The billionaire strongly denies all of the heavy criminal allegations. His defense team insists he completely severed his relationship with the investment fund when the current war started in 2022.
According to TASS, Galitsky maintains that his financial investments were strictly limited to ordinary civilian projects. Despite his legal defense, a local court ordered the immediate confiscation of his massive domestic wealth.
The state completely stripped the pioneer of his remaining local assets. Officials seized roughly eight billion rubles, which included a massive chunk of bank deposits alongside a luxury Moscow apartment, five parking spaces, and a lavish countryside villa.
These highly valuable properties and his former corporate shares are now falling under the direct control of state-owned enterprises.
Over nearly two decades, his company pumped hundreds of millions into massive tech startups like Yandex and CarPrice. Now, the Russian government is busy absorbing whatever pieces of that lucrative empire the founder left behind.
Sources: The Moscow Times, TASS
