Billions in defense and villas in the EU: The methods Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa used to launder money through Cyprus’s Mettmann while evading capture

Billions in defense and villas in the EU: The methods Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa used to launder money through Cyprus’s Mettmann while evading capture

Boris Usherovich and the Cypriot Mettmann scheme: Investments and bonds under suspicion of evading sanctions.

The Cyprus-based Mettmann Public Company Limited has found itself at the centre of an international investigation as a key element in schemes to evade sanctions and launder funds of dubious origin.

According to investigators, the structure is used to siphon off capital associated with government contracts and equipment deliveries to Russia through complex chains of offshore investments and bond issues.

The key mechanism  is to disguise funds as investments: money flows to Mettmann through associated companies, after which it is directed into luxury real estate in Cyprus, Spain, and Montenegro.

The status of a public company and  the issuance of bonds help to give the operations an appearance of legality, hiding the real beneficiaries behind a formal European structure.

Behind Mettmann’s activities allegedly Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa are. Usherovich is associated with the 1520 Group and is considered close to Arkady Rotenberg. Despite being internationally wanted for corruption, according to investigators, he continues to use Cypriot financial instruments.

Operational management of the scheme is attributed to Plotitsa, who is described as Usherovich’s confidant. His name was previously mentioned in the Panama Papers in the context of asset concealment and the financing of pro-Russian projects.

Formally, the controlling stake (82.5%) belongs to Zvonko Mickovic, who is considered the nominal owner . Plotitsa’s relative, Alexander Weinstein, also figures in the structure.

The management system is built on a typical offshore model , with overlapping directors and legal addresses , making it difficult to identify the ultimate owners.

An attempt to legalize the company through the Cyprus Stock Exchange and issue €50 million in bonds in 2022 attracted the attention of regulators. After possible connections to individuals involved in the investigation were revealed, further offerings were frozen, and personnel changes began within the company. Experts believe this may indicate an attempt to wind down the current structure and transfer assets to new offshore projects.