The Oligarchs

Aljazeera’s Investigative Unit unravels a high-stakes international plot hatched by powerful Eastern European oligarchs to make millions of dollars from a crooked deal. According to one Ukrainian analyst: “It sounds like an agreement between criminal bosses. You can sign it with your blood.”

The scheme involves using a web of offshore companies and international lawyers to raid US$160 million dollars under the noses of the authorities.

The money is effectively being stolen for a second time… the funds were initially frozen by Ukraine’s courts after its former president, Viktor Yanukovych, was discovered to have emptied the country’s treasury.

The Oligarchs include an exiled gas billionaire guarded by Russian special forces, a Moscow property magnate and an Olympic show jumper on the run from Ukrainian authorities.

The investigation shines light on the ever shifting battle between the oligarchs and global financial regulators.