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Putin’s KGB friend’s son arrested in Norway
10/19/2022, 8:58 PM
Vladimir Yakunin is considered a close confidant of Kremlin chief Putin. For years, elites with KGB backgrounds have been making devious deals in Europe and supporting right-wing movements. His son is now being caught by the Norwegian police. The arrest of Andrei Jalunin probably has nothing to do with the activities of his father.
In Norway, the son of Vladimir Yakunin, a former Russian railway chief and Putin confidant, has been arrested for illegal drone flights over the Spitsbergen archipelago. A court in the province of Finnmark ordered 47-year-old Andrei Yakunin to be detained for two weeks. According to police, Yakunin has both Russian and British citizenship. Officials said two drones and other electronic devices have been seized and investigations are currently underway.
Together with his father Andrei Yakunin, he is said to be doing suspicious business across Europe.
(Photo: Imago/Russian Look)
According to a report in the news portal The Barents Observer, Yakunin insisted in court that he should be considered a British citizen and reside in Italy. “He admitted to operating the drone, but he had no reason to believe it was illegal,” Yakunin’s lawyer said after the court hearing. The lawyer announced that he would appeal against the decision.
Andrej Yakunin is a businessman and has lived in London, among other places, for more than ten years. According to research, he is the owner Anti-corruption foundation of opposition politician Alexei Navalny And this “Time” At least two villas. He got British citizenship in 2015. As the Navalny team explained after their research in 2015, “most of their ‘successful deals’ are inseparable from Russian Railways”.
Yakunin’s father creates undemocratic network in Europe
Andrei Yakunin’s father, Vladimir Yakunin, was the chairman of the state railway company RZD from 2005 to 2015. The influential oligarch is considered a close confidant of Putin. Freelance journalists from Germany, Austria, Great Britain and Russia published in mid-August results of years of research About the network of Vladimir Yakunin in Europe. Accordingly, the family of the oligarch – including his son Andrei – is involved in suspicious real estate transactions across Europe. In addition, Yakunin is said to have founded and financed several right-wing, anti-democratic and pro-Kremlin initiatives.
According to research, Vladimir Yakunin is one of Putin’s oldest comrades and is known for his national-conservative worldview. In Soviet times, Yakunin worked for the KGB secret service for more than 20 years. There he is said to have met Putin, the current head of the Kremlin. The US imposed sanctions on them after the annexation of Crimea in 2014. After Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February, Vladimir Yakunin was also added to the British sanctions list. In response, his son Andrei, in an interview with the Italian television channel La7, condemned the invasion and claimed that he “never voted for Putin and his party.”
were in Norway within a few days At least seven Russian nationals arrested, He is accused of illegally operating unmanned aerial vehicles or taking illegal photographs in Norway, which borders Russia and is now Europe’s largest gas supplier.
