We had all been waiting to see some actual signs of that much-touted “return of Russia’s prestige on the international stage” that the zombie box (slang for state TV) talks about all day long. This is very important, because Russian diplomacy had been lagging a bit behind, failing to keep up with the latest principles and traditions of Russia’s domestic politics: we did not always hear an immediate and forceful rebuff to those enemies of Russia who try to impose false values on us, such as free elections or human rights. They were dragging their feet there at the Foreign Ministry instead of saying a firm “NO” right away, borrowing foreign-policy talking points directly from the TV appearances of Dmitry Kiselyov and Ramzan Kadyrov. But now, at last, it has happened. We now have precise confirmation that the front line of Russian diplomacy lives and works in full accordance with the Kremlin leadership’s approach. Not for nothing did Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov proudly declare just yesterday: "Attempts to adapt the OSCE space to the interests of one group of countries through the aggressive imposition of neoliberal interpretations of human rights are destructive for all of European civilization, Lavrov is convinced. Arrogant disregard for traditional values and moral norms, both those common to all of us and those characteristic of each people, is unacceptable." Now let us move on to a review of the moral norms Sergei Lavrov encourages among employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry. U.S. prosecutors charged Russian diplomats with insurance fraud. You have probably heard this news or read a couple of articles, but you may be interested to know that ACF’s investigations department read the indictment and would like to delight you (actually, dismay you) with the details.
Apple, Tiffany, and fake certificates—those are the “spiritual bonds” and traditional values occupying the minds of Russian diplomats in the United States. In short, the fraud scheme was simple: our diplomatic mission issued diplomats official certificates containing false information about their salaries. Using those certificates, the diplomats applied for health coverage through Medicaid (a U.S. government healthcare program for low-income families). They then collected insurance money without the slightest concern that their card spending and the documents they submitted to other U.S. agencies showed quite clearly that they did not belong in the “low-income families” category. That is exactly how they got caught.
Para. 74 of the indictment. Attaché Spirin and his wife.
They had two children in the United States. They signed a fake document saying Spirin earned $29,000 a year, while he himself wrote on a credit card application that he earned $100,000. They received $37,000 from Medicaid, and while they were collecting that money (the support is paid monthly), they spent it on: $3,500 at the APPLE STORE $1,600 at TIFFANY & CO In total, they spent $35,700 on shopping in 2011. Para. 58. Sagura and Lazareva. Vitaly Sagura worked as a Third Secretary at the Consulate. He lied and signed a statement saying he earned $21,000 in 2007; in reality it was about $90,000. He received $19,000 from Medicaid, and while collecting it, they spent money on: LIMOUSINE RENTAL A CHARTER HELICOPTER FLIGHT
and also $8,000 at TIFFANY & CO Para. 50. The Korneevs. Mikhail Korneev, the one who signed fake certificates for most of the other diplomats. He worked as a Consul. He lied that he was practically destitute and had only $3,200 a month, while in reality he was making about $8,000 a month. He received a modest $3,000 from Medicaid, and while collecting it, they spent money on: $1,800 on a FUR COAT $3,000 on a CRUISE (OCT 2009) $2,000 on ANOTHER CARIBBEAN CRUISE (MAY 2011) $2,000 ON JEWELRY AND GIFTS DURING THE CRUISE $4,000 on YET ANOTHER CRUISE (DECEMBER 2011) and then, of course (a mandatory item on the program), $4,300 at the APPLE STORE Para. 46. Solomatin and Babaeva. This one also worked as a Third Secretary. He received $31,000 from Medicaid. What he spent money on while living on benefits: $10,000 at PRADA, BLOOMINGDALE'S $8,400 at the APPLE STORE $1,300 at TIFFANY & CO Among those still working at the mission: Para. 18. Mikhail Kuleshov (Second Secretary) and Anna. These two handled it as follows: Anna pretended to be a single woman with two children and reclassified her husband as a brother who did not live with them. In other words, on paper their household had no income at all. They received $21,000 from Medicaid, and while collecting it, they spent money on: $4,500 at LORD & TAYLOR, SAKS FIFTH AVENUE and like that every month The Artasovs, Andrei and Natalya. At present Andrei Artasov works as a First Secretary. Everything as usual: fake certificates and Medicaid assistance. While receiving it, they spent: $4,500 at SWAROVSKI $16,500 at LORD & TAYLOR $3,500 at the APPLE STORE Anyone who knows English can enjoy the full text too—there are plenty more Apple Stores, Burberry, Madonna concert tickets, and all that sort of thing. Especially delightful is point 16B, which shows that until June 2011 our diplomats were paid in cash.
It is straight out of a second-rate spy action movie. A room full of stacks of cash in the mission building, and an unshaven man in an ushanka handing out money to diplomats working either for the KGB or the “Russian mafia.” Do not think I am picking on diplomats for buying themselves Apple products and Tiffany jewelry. Let them buy them—and they should buy them: this is a prestigious job and it is well paid. We are all in favor of our diplomats wearing good suits and carrying MacBooks, while their wives are decked out head to toe in Tiffany. Their salaries, incidentally, are far from small, and it should be remembered that diplomats basically have EVERYTHING paid for. Salary, per diem, phone, transport, apartment, medical care, schools, daycare—it is all included. And on top of all that, they are exempt from paying taxes (at the UN, certainly). The indictment states that everyone on the list lived in official apartments. So the expenses they actually need to cover out of salary are very limited. And yet they still managed to organize mass fraud. What this really shows is the degree of chaos and decay the systems of the Foreign Ministry, the SVR (Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service), and the FSB (Russia’s security service) have reached if something like this can happen. Russia’s mission to the UN in New York, USA, is the front line of diplomatic struggle. Here is the CIA, there the FBI, and around the corner the NSA with a microphone. Spy listening devices hidden in rocks on every corner. The American military machine, hating the multipolar world and dreaming of revenge. But seriously, jokes aside, this is the point where the intelligence and counterintelligence services of all countries concentrate maximum effort, and our diplomats successfully ran a mass fraud involving 49 participants over several years. Who can believe that something like this could happen without the knowledge of the head of mission, the Foreign Ministry, and the many intelligence officers working at the mission. It is interesting, by the way, how many “intelligence operatives” there are among those 49. A pink dream come true for CIA recruiters. How can one not recall that one of the most notorious failures of Russian intelligence involved a defector from the UN itself. Total degradation. Since the 1970s, Soviet diplomacy in “prestigious capitalist countries” began turning simply into a tool for finding jobs for the children of the nomenklatura (the Soviet ruling elite). And now this is compounded by the collapse of intelligence work: SVR chief Fradkov has no time to deal with the fact that 49 of our people at the UN mission are under criminal suspicion and could be recruited at any moment.
He is busy finding his little children places at the public trough. Little Petya, born in 1978, has already been made deputy chairman of VEB. Little Pasha, born in 1981, is already a deputy minister, managing state property. Will the FSB deal with this? Will it make sure conditions for recruitment are not being created?
What spies? Bortnikov has to find his dear little Denis a cushy spot at VTB Bank. And then spend his time covering for the thieves at VTB whom his darling son works alongside. Why do anything at all or worry about anything if you can just talk? Putin: thanks to diplomats, Russia’s authority on the world stage will grow. And that is it. It has been said, and then we repeat it on television until the “common people” believe it. And American influence, too, only needs to be fought on television. After all, when applying for fake insurance to cover childbirth expenses, did these “Russian diplomats” state that their children were U.S. citizens (even though U.S. birthright citizenship does not apply to diplomats)? They did. So those, apparently, are the state’s and diplomacy’s real priorities.