Action
Further Targets Major Transnational Criminal Organization
WASHINGTON – The
U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated five key members and
associates of the Eurasian crime syndicate, the Brothers' Circle. These
designations were made pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581, which targets
entities or individuals determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, to be
significant transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) or to have provided
material support for, or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted for or
on behalf of, such organizations. Today’s designations included Brothers'
Circle leader Temuri Mirzoyev as well as Brothers' Circle members Lasha
Shushanashvili, Vladimir Vagin, and Koba Shemazashvili, each of whom is
designated for acting on behalf of, or providing support to, the Brothers’
Circle or its members. In addition, Kakhaber Shushanashvili is being designated
pursuant to E.O. 13581 for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to,
Lasha Shushanashvili.
President Obama identified the
Brothers' Circle as a significant TCO in the Annex to E.O. 13581 (Blocking
Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations) on July 24, 2011. Since then,
the Treasury Department has targeted the Brother’s Circle by designating seven
members and associates of the TCO.
“This action marks the next step in
Treasury’s ongoing efforts to target major transnational criminal
organizations. Today’s designations expose links among these criminals and
serve to protect the United States financial system from their illicit
activity,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David
S. Cohen.
Today, the Treasury Department is
continuing to target this criminal group by identifying additional key members
and associates, freezing any assets the designated persons may have within the
jurisdiction of the United States and prohibiting any transactions with them by
U.S. persons. These efforts are designed to protect the U.S. financial system
from the malign influence of transnational criminal organizations and expose
the individuals who are supporting or acting on behalf of the Brothers’ Circle
organization.
The Brothers' Circle is a
multi-ethnic criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several
Eurasian criminal groups largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union
but operating in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The
Brothers' Circle serves as a coordinating body for several criminal networks,
mediating disputes between the individual criminal networks and directing
member criminal activity globally.
Brothers' Circle leader Temuri
Mirzoyev has been identified as a crime boss in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg),
Russia. In September 2006, he was arrested along with another criminal figure
during a gathering at a casino in Sochi, Russia.
Brothers' Circle member Vladimir Vagin has seven criminal
convictions and has been wanted by Russian law enforcement since March 2009 on
charges of attempted murder. He fled to the United Arab Emirates but escaped
from their custody in March 2010 and disappeared.
Brothers' Circle member Lasha
Shushanashvili was in overall charge of a criminal organization; his
subordinates included his brother, Kakhaber Shushanashvili, and Koba
Shemazashvili. Lasha Shushanashvili avoided being detained during a March 2010
Europe-wide law enforcement operation that resulted in the capture of Kakhaber
Shushanashvili, but later was arrested in Greece in January 2012. Lasha
Shushanashvili is wanted in Spain on several charges and in Georgia for
extortion and acting as a criminal boss. In addition, he sent two assassins to
meet his brother in Spain as part of an effort to murder a criminal rival.
Brothers' Circle member Koba Shemazashvili was Lasha
Shushanashvili's subordinate in his organized crime network and has been
described as his "right-hand man.” Separately, he along with Kakhaber
Shushanashvili assaulted two criminal rivals in the Netherlands. He was wanted
by Spain on a variety of criminal charges, and in July 2011 he was arrested in
Ukraine; he entered a Spanish prison in February 2012.
Kakhaber Shushanashvili operates for or on behalf of Brothers'
Circle member Lasha Shushanashvili by serving as his subordinate in his
criminal network. In March 2010, he was arrested in Spain as part of a
Europe-wide law enforcement operation targeting a Georgian criminal
organization. He oversaw funds that were collected, including through credit
card fraud, from other Europe-based members of the network.
Identifying
Information:
MIRZOYEV , Temuri Suleimanovich
(a.k.a. MIRZOEV, Temuri; a.k.a. "TIMUR SVERDLOVSKIY"; a.k.a.
"TIMUR TBILISI"; a.k.a. "TIMUR TBILISSKIY")
DOB 7 May 1957
POB Tbilisi, Georgia
SHEMAZASHVILI, Koba Shalvovich
(a.k.a. SHERMAZASHVILI, Koba; a.k.a.
"KOBA RUSTAVSKIY";
a.k.a. "TSITSILA");
DOB 1974
POB Rustavi, Georgia
SHUSHANASHVILI, Lasha Pavlovich
(a.k.a. MALGASOV, Ymar; a.k.a. SHUSHANASHVILI, Lasha (Iasha) Pavlovich; a.k.a.
"LASHA RUSTAVSKI"; a.k.a. "LASHA RUSTAVSKY"; a.k.a.
"LASHA TOLSTY")
DOB 25 July 1961
POB Rustavi, Georgia
SHUSHANASHVILI, Kakhaber Pavlovich (a.k.a. KOSTOV,
Nikolay Lyudmilo; a.k.a. ROSTOV, Nicholas; a.k.a. SEPIASHVILI, Moshe Israel;
a.k.a. SHUSHANASHVILI, Kajaver; a.k.a. SHUSHANASHVILI, Kakha; a.k.a.
"Kakha RUSTAVSKIY");
8 Rukavishnikov Street, Mariinskiy Posad, Chuvash
Republic, Russia
DOB 8 February1972
POB Rustavi, Georgia; alt. POB Kutaisi, Georgia
VAGIN, Vladimir Viktorovich
(a.k.a. "VAGON")
Sadaf 2 Sector, Tower C06-T06,
Apartment 603, Dubai 32900, United Arab Emirates
DOB 3 February 1966
POB Raditshevo, Russia
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