As a source familiar with the situation told Rosbalt, after Boris Usherovich left Russia in the fall of 2018, he went to Cyprus. Then the businessman was put on the federal wanted list, and it became clear that an international search would soon follow, so he left for Israel on a personal boat (Usherovich had a long-term visa for this country). However, then the entrepreneur decided that he could be arrested here too at the request of Moscow. As a result, he moved to a luxury yacht, which all this time was cruising in neutral waters between Gibraltar, Israel and Turkey. Occasionally, Usherovich landed in Spain, but spent no more than a few days there, after which he sailed away again.

Boris Usherovich, co-owner of the 1520 company, accused in the “  Dmitry Zakharchenko case, ”   asked the British authorities to grant him political asylum. At the same time, he refers to the fact that in Russia for a long time he was forced to pay large bribes to law enforcement officers, which is what he connects with his current persecution. His consultant on this issue was  Dmitry Smychkovsky , who is wanted for  mediation in the transfer of money to employees of the Investigative Committee . It is noteworthy that Usherovich is accused in the Russian Federation of  giving bribes to Zakharchenko .

The other day it became known that the Investigative Committee is demanding in the Basmanny Court the arrest in absentia of Boris Usherovich , he has been put on the international wanted list. Living forever on a yacht in international waters was not part of the businessman’s plans. Therefore, on March 18, in Gibraltar, he submitted an application to the British authorities for political asylum. Usherovich received the status of a political asylum seeker, and in this capacity he plans to arrive in London in the near future.

According to the agency’s source, business partner Dmitry Motorin (put on the Russian wanted list in the “Zakharchenko case”) and good friend Dmitry Smychkovsky are already waiting for him there. In Russia, he is accused of mediating bribes to ICR employees for the release of the “authority”  Andrei Kochuykov (Italian) . In England, Motorin and Smychkovsky are co-owners of one of the companies; the first, following the second, applied for political asylum back in the fall. Smychkovsky is in London under the equivalent of our recognizance not to leave. Consideration of the issue of possible extradition to the Russian Federation had already begun, but it was postponed until November 2019. It is planned that by this date the question will be decided whether or not Smychkovsky will be given the status he requested.

In the meantime, Motorin and Smychkovsky will act as consultants to Usherovich on the issue of obtaining political asylum. It is worth noting that, according to the agency’s sources, in Russia Smychkovsky was a “fixer” with high-ranking connections in the law enforcement bloc and the judiciary.

As Rosbalt learned, during the filing of the application, the migration officer interrogated Usherovich for almost six hours. He stated that he was doing business in Russia, but his company was constantly subjected to extortion by law enforcement officers and intelligence services, and he and his companions were forced to pay bribes to them. It is with this situation that Usherovich connects his persecution in Russia.

According to the source, approximately the same testimony was given at one time by Motorin and Ivan Stankevich (another person involved in the “Zakharchenko case”). True, the latter is asking for political asylum not in England, but in the USA.

All of them, according to Rosbalt’s interlocutor, can live extremely richly abroad. They managed to sell their companies in the Russian Federation, as well as most of their real estate, and withdraw money abroad. By the time Usherovich’s assets were seized, he only had a luxury apartment in the Copernicus residential complex, a cottage in Barvikha and a 2009 Maybach.

According to the investigation, the co-owners of the company “1520”  Valery Markelov , Boris Usherovich, their companions Motorin and Stankevich monthly paid GUEBiPK employee Dmitry Zakharchenko $150 thousand each. Zakharchenko acted as a kind of security guard for these persons, as well as their business, which was built on receiving contracts worth billions rubles from Russian Railways.