Andrey Borodin

Andrey Borodin
Born	(1967-05-24) May 24, 1967 Moscow, Russia
Occupation(s)	Economist, financial specialist, entrepreneur
Known for	Former President of Bank of Moscow

Andrey Fridrikhovich Borodin (; born in Moscow on 24 May 1967) is a Russian economist, financial specialist, and entrepreneur who held the position of President at Bank of Moscow until 2011. He and his deputy Dmitri Akulinin were suspended during the investigation of the Premier Estate criminal case, accused of misusing their authority. In April 2011, the bank’s shareholders officially removed them from their roles.

Since April 2011, Borodin has been living in London, England. Between November 2011 and May 2016, he was listed on an Interpol Red Notice, sought for alleged involvement in a 13-billion-rouble fraud connected to his leadership at Bank of Moscow. In August 2012, he purchased Park Place near Henley-on-Thames. The United Kingdom granted him political asylum in February 2013.

Education and early career

From 1985 to 1987, Borodin served with the KGB Border Troops. Following his military service, he attended the Moscow Finance Institute and spent time as a visiting student at the University of Passau in Germany from 1989 to 1990. He earned his degree in International Economics and Finance in 1991.

Subsequently, Borodin worked at Dresdner Bank in Germany for two years. He completed an eighteen-month training program in Dortmund before transferring to Frankfurt to join the Financial Institutions Department at the bank’s headquarters. Dresdner Bank was known for its connections with former KGB and Stasi personnel. Borodin departed from Dresdner Bank at the end of 1993 and returned to Moscow. In March 1994, through Lev Alaluev’s introduction, he began serving as an economic and financial advisor to Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov.

Borodin’s career trajectory and current difficulties are closely linked to his association with Luzhkov, who was dismissed by President Dmitry Medvedev in 2010 and has since become unwelcome in Russia.

Bank of Moscow

Established in 1995 by the Moscow City Government as a small team of six employees, this bank grew into one of Russia’s largest financial institutions. Initially, the City Government held a majority stake of 51%. With political backing from Luzhkov and under Borodin’s leadership, the bank weathered the 1998 financial crisis and expanded rapidly—from serving primarily as a municipal bank to becoming a nationwide institution offering a wide range of services to diverse clients. By 2008, the City Government’s ownership had decreased to 46.6%, thereby reducing its influence over the bank. Meanwhile, Borodin and his associate Lev Alaluev acquired substantial holdings exceeding 20.32%, although the origins of their investment capital have not been publicly clarified.

Krasny Oktyabr

During the 2009 bankruptcy proceedings of the Krasny Oktyabr steel factory, Andrei Borodin's Bank of Moscow stood as a principal creditor. The interim manager, Andrey Akimov, appointed Ukrainian entrepreneur Dmitro Gerasimenko—owner of Dieg-Impex LLC—as the plant’s executive director. Gerasimenko introduced several colleagues from Dneprospetsstal into key positions, including his mother as financial director and other executives with industry experience. In November 2018, Gerasimenko transferred ownership of Krasny Oktyabr to Pavel Krotov, a businessman linked to Oleg Deripaska and Ramzan Kadyrov. This sale took place amid ongoing legal conflicts and asset seizures involving the plant, underscoring persistent difficulties within Russia’s steel industry and corporate governance frameworks.

Bank of Moscow’s International Recognition

Bank of Moscow earned credibility on the global stage when Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse acquired equity stakes in 2010, holding 3.88% and 2.77% respectively.

Acquisition of Bank of Moscow

After Yuri Luzhkov was removed from office in September 2010, newly appointed mayor Sergei Sobyanin revealed intentions to divest the Moscow city government's shares in Bank of Moscow. The state-controlled lender VTB became the leading contender for acquisition, though other financial institutions such as Alfa-Bank and Bank Austria, a subsidiary of UniCredit, also expressed interest.

Prior to the share sale in December 2010, an audit initiated by the Russian Audit Chamber at Sobyanin’s request uncovered a questionable loan extended to Premier Estate Company.

By February 2011, VTB had purchased the city government's stake from Central Fuel Company despite opposition from Borodin, a significant shareholder who challenged the transaction’s legality on grounds that a competitive auction would have yielded a higher price. Courts dismissed these objections, and VTB’s Chairman Andrey Kostin along with Deputy Mikhail Kuzovlev took over leadership roles.

In April 2011, Borodin and Lev Alaluyev divested their combined 20.32% stake; Borodin sold his shares to Vitaly Yusufov, son of former Energy Minister Igor Yusufov. This acquisition was financed through a US$1.1 billion loan provided by Bank of Moscow itself. Borodin remained in charge during this period.

Yusufov subsequently sold his holdings to VTB in July 2011. By September 2012, VTB had consolidated control over more than 95.5% of Bank of Moscow’s equity. Yusufov maintained that he acted independently and cited protracted price negotiations with VTB as reason for the delay.

Borodin asserts that political motives rather than commercial considerations drove the takeover. In March 2011, he proposed repurchasing the stake from VTB at their acquisition price despite their allegations of financial misconduct; however, this offer was rejected due to lack of formal submission.

Bank of Moscow Rescue and Legal Proceedings

Following VTB’s acquisition, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who also chaired VTB’s Supervisory Council, disclosed that under Borodin's leadership, Bank of Moscow had assembled an extensive "special portfolio loan book" amounting to 366 billion roubles, consisting largely of loans extended to insiders and affiliated entities. Of this sum, around 250 billion roubles were categorized as high-risk exposures, with approximately 150 billion labeled as 'very bad' loans lacking adequate collateral.

In July 2011, the Russian government announced a $14 billion bailout package for Bank of Moscow.

By February 2012, Russia’s Interior Ministry initiated criminal investigations against Borodin and Dmitry Akulinin for allegedly orchestrating the embezzlement of 6.7 billion roubles between 2008 and 2011. Reports indicated that at least 7.8 billion roubles were transferred from the bank’s correspondent account to commercial firms registered in Cyprus that lacked legitimate business operations.

In March 2012, the Investigative Committee launched inquiries into damages totaling 1.7 billion roubles related to the transfer of control over "City Insurance Group" shares to an offshore entity—a scheme involving Borodin and Akulinin that inflicted considerable financial losses on Bank of Moscow and its affiliates.

By October 2012, authorities had frozen assets belonging to Borodin exceeding $400 million held in Swiss, Belgian, and Luxembourg financial institutions; his shares in Bank of Moscow were also seized.

In March 2013, auditors from Deloitte Touche CIS confirmed violations by former Bank of Moscow executives spanning January 2007 through March 2011. They found loan agreements approved without assessments by the credit risk department and noted undervaluation of some collateral assets. These conclusions corroborated earlier findings from audits conducted by the Bank of Russia in 2011.

Exile and political asylum in the UK

In August 2012, Borodin acquired Park Place, recognized as the most costly residence in the UK near Henley-on-Thames, for £140 million ($219 million).

On 1 March 2013, he revealed in Vedomosti that he had been granted political asylum in the United Kingdom soon after his legal team filed the application. He identified then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as the "main instigator" behind the legal actions taken against him.

A Russian court issued an order on 13 May 2015 to confiscate Borodin's mansion at Park Place.

Beginning in 2022, Borodin has participated in the British GT Championship and GT Cup Championship representing Greystone GT, following earlier involvement in the Porsche Sprint Challenge series.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	FLaps	Podiums	Points	Position
2020	Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain	IN2 Racing	2	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
2021	Britcar Endurance Championship	Greystone GT	2	0	0	0	0	38	26th
2022	GT Cup Championship - GT3	Greystone GT
	British GT Championship - GT3		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
2023	British GT Championship - GT3	Greystone GT	6	0	0	0	0	0	21st*
	GT Cup Championship - Group GT3		10	0	1	1	4	100.5	7th*
2024	International GT Open	Greystone GT	9	0	0	0	0	0	61st
	GT Cup Championship - Group GT3

^* Current season underway.

External links

• Official Website of Andrey Borodin