Magomed Gadzhiev is advising an Abu Dhabi royal and may have received French citizenship

Investigative journalists report that a known Russian war criminal is comfortably settling abroad. According to the report of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense at the end of March 2023, representatives of Russian elites are actively trying to negotiate their safe passage to the free world in exchange for leaking anything that they may or may not know about the inner dealings of Russian politics. 

 "There are different people with different motivations. Many representatives of the so-called Russian elite already understand that the war was a colossal mistake and a crime. In addition, the finale will be tragic for Russia. They are trying to find options for their escape," said Andrey Yusov, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in an interview with Gazeta.ua".

This statement by a Ukrainian intelligence official came just days after the scandal in Russia when an unidentified person leaked a telephone conversation between music producer Iosif Prigozhin and former senator (member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation) Farkhad Akhmedov.  One of Russia's top billionaires named Putin "Satan".  In response, Prigozhin called the Kremlin leaders and their entourage "criminals."

In Ukraine and in the West, stopping war criminals who are trying to obtain European or American passports and legalize their assets has been high on the agenda. In March of this year, members of the Ukrainian parliament addressed the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen with a plea to impose US and EU sanctions against the former State Duma deputy Magomed Gadzhiev.  Alexei Goncharenko, Akhtem Chiygoz, Sofia Fedina, Nikolai Velichkovich, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Irina Konstankevich, Irina Friz signed an appeal to European and American partners.

Gadzhiev initiated and co-authored more than 300 anti-Ukrainian laws and amendments to them, including the ones that legalized the annexation of Crimea.  He also sponsored legislative initiatives that imposed sanctions against US citizens and American companies, as well as laws on so-called "foreign agents" significantly limiting the rights and activities of Russian and foreign non-governmental organizations in Russia.

Vadim Denisenko, head of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, is confident that a year after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and especially after the decision of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, there will be more and more Russian oligarchs who want to “surrender” Putin and leave Russia.

In March 2023, investigative journalists from Romania Breaking News reported that Magomed Gadzhiev, fleeing criminal prosecution, was actively trying to obtain an EU passport, likely French. According to the report, he is aided by a notorious European lobbyist Eric van de Veghe who has been previously implicated in corruption scandals in Kazakhstan and arrested on a Brazilian warrant for pimping.  According to the report, Gadzhiev entertained van de Veghe on Christmas eve at an ultra-luxury resort in Courchevel, France, paying at least EUR 80,000 per night.  Furthermore, on a leaked tape Gadzhiev admitted that he was enjoying life in the UAE on a ‘golden visa’ while advising the head of Royal Group, one of the major companies in Abu Dhabi, and freely travelling to the United States where one of his families is residing in Miami, Florida.  The report also named Maga Musaev, Gadzhiev’s cousin and a resident of the United States, as his primary lobbyist in the US.

Advertisement

Ukrainian MP Sofia Fedina, who also signed the petition to the head of the European Commission and the speaker of the US House of Representatives, believes that the legalization of  Magomed Gadzhiev in the West is totally unacceptable.

 “Former FSB officers do not exist, as well as those former employees who worked for Putin.  All of them are connected.  They fled and are trying to legalize it somewhere else. All of them need to be limited and their contacts interrupted. Otherwise, the trap will close again. I am sure that Putin's money can be legalized through such characters. Almost none of them worked without the knowledge of Putin or his orders.”, Fedina said in an interview with Espreso.tv

Sponsors of the war and murders in Ukraine have no place in civilized countries.   It is hard to understand and justify how a member of the UAE royal family could be employing a Russian war criminal and allowing him to brag about it.  There is no doubt that something like this if it was indeed real, would be a direct contradiction to the UAE’s role as a potential mediator that is honestly striving to put an end to bloodshed in Ukraine and alleviate the suffering of the Ukrainian people. It is also beyond comprehension that characters like Gadzhiev are able to travel to Miami and enjoy life with one of his families at their own private beach.

If the information that Magomed Gadzhiev received a French passport is confirmed, this will certainly lead to an outburst of anger in Ukraine and cause a high-profile diplomatic scandal.  It would be interesting to hear thoughts on this from Emmanuel Macron or French Ambassador to Ukraine Etienne de Poncins.  After all, war criminals and sponsors of Russian terrorism should sit in the dock in The Hague, and not sunbathe on the beaches of Cannes, Saint-Tropez, Nice or Miami .

Share this article: