Entrepreneur Boris Usherovich, who made a fortune from corrupt deals with Russian Railways and fled abroad after a criminal case, is now making money by helping Russian state companies circumvent sanctions. He conducts his activities, among other things, through the «Center for the Development of Communication Systems» LLC (CDCS), which until recently was owned by Ilya Plotitsa, Usherovich’s relative and business partner.
Usherovich is one of the largest private contractors of Russian Railways, involved in the corruption case of Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko (the businessman paid large bribes to a high-ranking police officer). CRSS is doing business with LLC NPP «ECA» («Engineering Center of Automation»), which is part of the group of companies «1520», of which Usherovich remains a shareholder (28%).
According to the database of the Russsian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Usherovich is still wanted. It was reported that he is hiding in the UK. But this does not prevent him from continuing to spend money on government contracts and financing Putin’s party, both personally and through frontmen. For example, in February 2024, during Vladimir Putin’s election campaign, his party “United Russia” received 43.3 million rubles from the CRSS. The same firm, according to The Insider, finances the fund «Perspektivnoe Sotrudnichestvo» controlled by the “United Russia” party: in 2023, the CRSS donated 50 million rubles to the fund. This fund was established by another fund, “Regional Platform”, which is managed by Alexander Yakunin of “United Russia”. From the accounts of «Perspektivnoe Sotrudnichestvo» the money is transferred to the work of “United Russia”: for example, to the organizations of political technologist and State Duma deputy Oleg Matveychev. Among other things, Usherovich is involved in the Solntsevsky organized crime group.
Imports electronic products NPP «ECA» through Hong Kong and China. And sells them, in addition to Plotitsa’s firm, to other contractors of Russian Railways, including those that are part of the «1520».
Usherovich does business together with the Rotenbergs (the initial conflict with whom some attribute his criminal prosecution). He has ties, according to The Insider’s sources, to high-ranking GRU (Russian military intelligence) officers, and can funnel money to the West by inflating the price of equipment imported by his Russian firms. He has businesses in Cyprus, Spain, and other countries.
Ilya Plotitsa also has business in Cyprus. According to Cyprus registry statements available to The Insider, telecommunications companies Broxner PLC and Venisat Technology are registered to his brother-in-law, Aleksandr Vainshtein. These Cypriot companies are involved in supplying equipment to Russia. In particular, Broxner exported goods to «Expolux» LLC, which acts as an intermediary between the Cypriot firm and the Plotitsa CRSS.
The Bishkek-based firm «Akforta» is also used to supply equipment from Israeli manufacturer ECI TELECOM. Goods in 2023 and 2024 on behalf of «Akforta» were going to Russia via the UAE, Latvia and Lithuania.
Among the Russian customers of CRSS, according to The Insider, are dozens who work for Russian Railways, other state-owned companies, and the defense sector. The beneficiaries of these schemes to circumvent sanctions restrictions live in Cyprus and London.