![\"Denis](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/teaser_katsyv.jpg\")
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Denis Katsyv, a Russian citizen tied to a major case of tax fraud against the Russian Treasury, withdrew funds he held at Swiss bank UBS and transferred most of these to banks in Israel and Armenia. <\/p>\n
SWI swissinfo.ch <\/p>\n
A Russian citizen who held funds in Switzerland linked to a global tax fraud case wired at least CHF6 million from his UBS accounts. Our investigation shows a recent Swiss Federal Court ruling could have led to the confiscation of some of those funds.\n<\/p>\n
This content was published on <\/p>\n
April 18, 2026 – 10:00\n<\/p>\n
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\n I cover international relations with a focus on Switzerland, lead journalistic investigations, and conduct deeply personal interviews on challenging topics.
\nOver 25 years in journalism. Graduated from Moscow State University’s Faculty of Journalism and the French Press Institute in Paris. Former TV\/radio host in France and Russia. I am a published author and documentary filmmaker who has interviewed presidents and rock stars. <\/p>\n
On February 12, Denis Katsyv, a Russian citizen tied to a major case of tax fraud against the Russian Treasury, withdrew funds he held at Swiss bank UBS and transferred most of these to banks in Israel and Armenia.<\/p>\n In total, he wired some CHF5.5 million ($7.6 million) to his personal accounts abroad. Another roughly CHF500,000 were transferred to a Swiss business account. It\u2019s unclear if this money is still in Switzerland.<\/p>\n The transaction data reviewed by Swissinfo shows that in\u202fFebruary, Katsyv moved more than CHF6\u202fmillion out of\u202fhis accounts at\u202fUBS. <\/p>\n SWI swissinfo.ch <\/p>\n The assets Katsyv held in personal and business bank accounts at UBS and Edmond de Rothchild Bank had been frozen during Switzerland\u2019s investigation of the Magnitsky tax fraud case, of which Katsyv was a beneficiary. At the time they held a combined $8.2 million.<\/p>\n A 2021 decision by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG), which effectively closed the case, stated that Katsyv\u2019s account was contaminated with some money obtained illegally\u00a0and stated that 1% of those funds, or a total of $78,000External link<\/a>, were to be permanently confiscated. Katsyv appealed that decision and lost in 2023. But he continued to have free access to the remaining 99% of the funds in his Swiss bank accounts.<\/p>\n Denis Katsyv, son of\u00a0a\u00a0senior Moscow-region official. <\/p>\n DM <\/p>\n The transfer in February came just two months after a key ruling by the Swiss Federal CourtExternal link<\/a> on an appeal by a company belonging to Katsyv that potentially could have led to the confiscation of more funds.<\/p>\n The Federal Court ruling of December 5, 2025 declared that the method used by the OAG to calculate the amounts of funds connected to the Magnitsky case that were to be permanently confiscated was \u201cunconstitutional\u201d. The court then ordered a new calculation.<\/p>\n This raises the question of why UBS allowed Katsyv to transfer his funds out of Switzerland after the court\u2019s ruling. Why did the OAG not ask the bank to freeze the accounts until a recalculation had been finalised?<\/p>\n Lawyers Swissinfo spoke to said the ruling left many open questions but agreed that the funds should have been sequestrated after the decision and never left the country.<\/p>\n Thomas Rihm, a Z\u00fcrich-based lawyer. <\/p>\n Courtesy of <\/p>\n \u201cIn our preliminary view, there is indeed a legal duty by the Office of the Attorney General to sequester the assets under discussion. Pertaining omittances to do so may cause a strict state or governmental liability\u00a0to be raised against the Swiss Confederation,\u201d said\u00a0Thomas Rihm, a Z\u00fcrich-based lawyer.<\/p>\n The Swiss investigation<\/p>\n Switzerland\u2019s handling of the Magnitsky case is back under scrutiny. A Federal Court ruling and a critical PACE resolution are raising fresh questions about its response to money laundering.<\/p>\n >>Read the full story on how Switzerland\u2019s handling of the Magnitsky case is back under scrutiny.<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Swiss position\n <\/p>\n How Switzerland got caught in the Magnitsky case \u2013 again <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Apr 18, 2026 <\/p>\n Switzerland\u2019s controversial handling of the Magnitsky Affair, a vast Russian money-laundering scheme, is back in focus. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Read more: How Switzerland got caught in the Magnitsky case \u2013 again The Magnitsky case goes back to 2007, when a group of Russian citizens linked to high-level officials in their country stole $230 million from the Russian Treasury.<\/p>\n The funds were routed through a network of shell companies and European banks. Sergei MagnitskyExternal link<\/a>, a lawyer for Hermitage Capital, exposed the fraud and testified against the officials involved. He was later arrested and found dead under suspicious circumstances in a Russian jail.<\/p>\n The suspected beneficiaries of the fraud case were placed on international sanctions lists.External link<\/a><\/p>\n In 2011, Hermitage Capital, the largest asset management firm in Russia at the time, filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland. The Swiss case became one of the first international investigations initiated by Hermitage into the laundering of proceeds from that fraud.<\/p>\n It was followed by multiple investigations, including in the United States, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the Baltic countries.<\/p>\n In July 2021 the OAG formally closed its decade-long money-laundering investigationExternal link<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the investigation Swiss authorities had frozen about CHF18 million ($22.6 million) held in bank accounts controlled by three Russian citizens that had benefited from the fraud. Besides Katsyv, the son of a senior Moscow-region official, they are Vladlen Stepanov, then-husband of Russian tax official Olga Stepanova, and Dmitry Klyuev, a Russian banker previously convicted in Russia and whom the US authorities had identified as the \u00a0mastermind of the fraudExternal link<\/a>.<\/p>\n In its decision, the OAG confirmed that some of the proceeds of the tax fraud had landed in the Swiss bank accounts of the three Russian citizens. It ordered the confiscation of CHF4 millionExternal link<\/a> while releasing the remaining CHF14 million back to the account holders.<\/p>\n By applying what is known as the \u201cproportional method\u201d, the OAG concluded that only a quarter of the frozen funds should be permanently confiscated. This approach diverged from comparable cases in Europe and the United States, where a substantially larger share of the laundered funds was confiscated.<\/p>\n The proportional approach is based on the idea that the original proceeds had allegedly been diluted through successive layers of financial transactions. At each stage of \u201clayering\u201d, prosecutors estimated what share of the funds could still be traced to the predicate offence and reduced the confiscation amount accordingly.<\/p>\n The Federal Court ruling last DecemberExternal link<\/a> deemed that the proportional method used by the OAG was unconstitutional and requested the recalculation using the \u201cintentional corrective\u201dExternal link<\/a> or \u201csedimental methods\u201d.External link<\/a><\/p>\n This reversed the OAG\u2019s approach to the Swiss side of the Magnitsky affair and could potentially have led to the confiscation of a larger part of Katsyv\u2019s assets \u2013 had these not left Switzerland.<\/p>\n The court\u2019s decision was welcomed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, (PACE) which called on Switzerland to reconsider its original proportional calculation method.External link<\/a><\/p>\n PACE is due to hold a final vote on a resolution on April 22External link<\/a> that is critical of Switzerland\u2019s handling of the Magnitsky caseExternal link<\/a>.<\/p>\n Where did the money go?<\/p>\n The transaction data reviewed by Swissinfo shows that in February, Katsyv moved more than CHF6\u202fmillion out of\u202fhis accounts at\u202fUBS.<\/p>\n A Russian citizen who held funds in Switzerland linked to a global tax fraud case wired at least CHF6 million from his UBS accounts. <\/p>\n Manuel Geisser \/ Keystone <\/p>\n Part of\u202fthe funds was wired to Landmark Capital, a financial company registered in Armenia. Two\u202ftransfers of\u202fCHF338,569 and CHF185,000 each were sent from Katsyv\u2019s private UBS account to an account at Swiss In\u0441ore Bank AG of Landmark Capital, with possible further credit to its Evocabank account in\u202fYerevan, which was also referenced in the transfer. <\/p>\n The payment reference described the transfer as\u202fa \u201creplenishment of\u202fthe LMC client [Denis Katsyv] account\u201d. Incore Bank is a Swiss correspondent bank for businesses with a focus on Swiss and international markets. \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear if the funds remained in Switzerland or were wired after that transaction. Incore Bank when contacted by Swissinfo replied that Swiss law prohibits them from \u201cdisclosing any information regarding client relationships, financial situations, or the business developments of clients\u201d.<\/p>\n Three transfers totalling over CHF5.5 million were sent from UBS accounts linked to Katsyv\u2019s companies to his account at Bank Hapoalim in Rishon Lezion, Israel. <\/p>\n Keystone \/ EPA <\/p>\n That same day, three larger transfers of\u00a0CHF2,092,193, CHF1,249,352 and CHF2,193,374 were sent from three UBS accounts linked to\u00a0companies associated with Katsyv. \u00a0These funds were transferred to Katsyv\u2019s\u202faccount at\u202fBank Hapoalim in\u202fRishon Lezion in Israel.<\/p>\n The payment references indicated that the transfers were made to\u202fthe beneficial owner of\u202fthe companies, Denis Katsyv, \u201cbecause of the decision to liquidate the companies\u201d. \u00a0<\/p>\n Swissinfo was unable to verify whether he also wired money out of his accounts at Edmond de Rothschild Bank. Both banks declined to comment when contacted by Swissinfo.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to the calculation method required by the Federal Supreme Court, there is no scope for the assumption that any funds from Russian tax fraud flowed into Prevezon\u2019s accounts, which will lead to the full release of all funds ever seized from Prevezon,\u201d Katsyv\u2019s lawyers in Switzerland said when contacted by Swissinfo, in reference to the company owned by Katsyv and through which the funds transited.<\/p>\n They did not comment when asked if the funds had been wired following the ruling of the Federal Court.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next?<\/p>\n The case is now with the Federal Criminal Court, which has been tasked with calculating how much of the funds held by Katsyv should ultimately be confiscated.<\/p>\n It remains unclear whether the Federal Court\u2019s decision also applies to accounts held by the other two Russian citizens with Swiss banks accounts. Both the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code (Article 392)External link<\/a> and the Federal Constitution (Article 8)External link<\/a> require that the same legal rules be applied equally when the facts are materially identical. Of the original $18 million frozen by Switzerland, $9.8 million was linked to Stepanov and $37,607 to Klyuev.<\/p>\n Giorgio Camp\u00e1, a Geneva-based lawyer. <\/p>\n Keystone \/ Pierre Albouy <\/p>\n Should Switzerland now want to freeze Katsyv\u2019s account following the withdrawal of the CHF6 million, it would need international association. This would be difficult to implement, experts Swissinfo spoke to say.<\/p>\n A sequestration could only target the CHF524,069 wired by Katsyv to Swiss Incore bank, should that money still be in Switzerland.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch a seizure can no longer be ordered if the assets are no longer in Switzerland due to the sovereignty of foreign states. In that case, it would be necessary to proceed through mutual legal assistance,\u201d explained Giorgio Camp\u00e1, a Geneva-based lawyer.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona can still order sequestration\u00a0subsequently, thereby requesting international legal assistance in criminal matters\u201d, said Rihm, the Zurich-based lawyer.<\/p>\n The Federal Criminal Court confirmed to Swissinfo that two sets of\u202fproceedings related to\u202fthe Magnitsky case are currently pending, both following the Federal Court\u2019s ruling. The court declined to\u202fprovide further details, noting that ongoing proceedings are not made public.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf an intent to launder criminal proceeds is established, the Federal Criminal Court should have ordered the sequestration of the accounts following the ruling of the Federal Court, under the Federal Court\u2019s order to correct the method, as it was too favorable to the account holder,\u201d Camp\u00e1 said.<\/p>\n The OAG\u2019s decision to close the proceedings and confiscate assets was \u201cnot yet final in all respects\u201d, a spokesperson wrote in an email to Swissinfo, without providing more details.<\/p>\n Edited by Virginie Mangin\/gw<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n Inside SWI\n <\/p>\n Our newsletter on geopolitics <\/p>\n Switzerland in a fast-moving world. Join us to follow the latest Swiss foreign policy developments. We offer the perfect immersive package. <\/p>\n
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