FBK Investigation: Head of Russian Helicopters Embezzles from Defense Industry

Former governor of the Amur Region and current head of Russian Helicopters, Nikolai Kolesov, has funneled over 20 defense enterprises into a network of shell companies owned by himself and his relatives. His corruption scheme includes villas, private jets, and even properties registered under his minor children.

• €5M villa in Mallorca (registered to his 7-year-old daughter, Nicole)
• €3M neighboring villa (under his sister, Lyudmila Tenno)
• Three 750-sq-m Mallorca villas (registered to his 4-year-old son, Alexei)
• Villa in Yalta
• $25M Dubai villa (1,800 sq m) (under Lyudmila Koshcheeva, deputy director of Kazan Optical-Mechanical Plant, owned by Kolesov)
• 1,400-sq-m Dubai villa (owned by his ex-mother-in-law, Nella Mazaeva)
• Two Dubai penthouses ($23M & $10M) (under daughter Anastasia Kolesova; her husband owns another luxury apartment in the same complex)
• ₽1B land plot near Moscow (registered under Kolesov and Elecon plant)
• Private resort near Kazan (with a spa, solarium, and shooting range)
• Private jets: Bombardier ($20M), Embraer ($10M), Agusta helicopter ($5M)
• Luxury cars: Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Mercedes-Maybach, G-Wagon

FBK has filed complaints with Russia’s Prosecutor General, Investigative Committee, Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, and FSB.

We demand that Spanish authorities seize Kolesov’s villas—registering them under minors is a sham. Since Kolesov is under sanctions, his assets must be frozen. We will push for sanctions against all his adult relatives, who hold positions in his companies and act as nominal owners of Kolesov’s assets.

To avoid sanctions, Kolesov’s family obtained foreign passports after the war with Ukraine began:

• Serbian citizenship (daughter Anastasia, her husband Nikolai Uraev, his mother, Kolesov’s sister Lyudmila Tenno, her daughter Ekaterina Blokhina, and even Kolesov’s ex-wife)
• Spanish & Cypriot citizenship (Kolesov’s younger children)

FBK will formally request action from all relevant governments.