6.5 Million Swiss Francs Moved to Israel and Armenia From Magnitsky-Linked Businessman’s Account

An investigation by Armenian investigative outlet Hetq says nearly 524,000 Swiss francs (about $592,000) linked to Russian businessman Denis Katsyv was transferred to Armenia earlier this year, citing findings from a report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and banking records reviewed as part of its reporting.

According to Hetq, the transfer is detailed in PACE’s April 2026 report, Tracking the Proceeds of the Crime Denounced by Sergei Magnitsky and Holding Its Perpetrators Accountable. The report says Katsyv, who has been linked to the long-running Magnitsky case, moved approximately 6.5 million Swiss francs out of Switzerland in February after court proceedings involving assets that Swiss authorities have identified as proceeds of crime. Of that amount, 6 million Swiss francs was transferred to Israel, while 523,569 Swiss francs was sent to Armenia.

Hetq reported that on Feb. 12, 2026, two transfers totaling 523,569 Swiss francs—338,569 francs and 185,000 francs—were made from Katsyv’s personal account at UBS to an operating account held by Landmark Capital at Switzerland’s Incore Bank AG. The payment instructions identified the transfer as funding the account of Landmark Capital’s client, Denis Katsyv, at Evocabank in Yerevan.

Landmark Capital is an Armenian investment company licensed by the Central Bank of Armenia.

According to Hetq, the transfers were made on the same day Switzerland’s Federal Supreme Court overturned an earlier ruling favorable to Katsyv and ordered a recalculation of assets subject to confiscation. The timing has raised questions about whether the money was moved out of Switzerland before it could be frozen.

The PACE report expressed “serious concern” that Swiss authorities allowed Katsyv to transfer the funds abroad and specifically noted that the money was sent to financial institutions in Armenia and Israel.

Hetq argues that, under Armenia’s anti-money laundering legislation, the circumstances warranted a review of the funds’ origin and consideration of freezing the assets while authorities determined whether they were connected to criminal proceeds.

As part of its investigation, Hetq sent official inquiries to the institutions involved in the transaction.

Evocabank declined to comment on the reported transfer, citing Armenia’s banking secrecy law. The bank said it complies with the country’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing requirements but did not address the specific transaction.

Landmark Capital also declined to comment, saying the requested information is protected under Armenia’s securities legislation. The company neither confirmed nor denied whether Katsyv is its client or whether the reported transfers took place.

The Central Bank of Armenia also declined to discuss the specific transactions, saying information handled by its Financial Monitoring Center is confidential under Armenian law. In its response, the regulator said it reviews any indication that an Armenian financial institution may have become involved in an international criminal scheme but did not say whether the transfers cited in the PACE report had been examined.

According to Hetq, Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said it had not received any information from the Central Bank regarding transfers made by Katsyv or companies affiliated with him from Swiss banks to Evocabank during 2025 or 2026. The office also said it had not received any requests for legal assistance from Swiss authorities related to the matter.

Hetq also asked ruling Civil Contract lawmaker Sona Ghazaryan, who attended the April 2026 PACE session, whether she had informed Armenian law enforcement authorities about the report’s references to Armenia. Ghazaryan replied that the report contains no allegations against Armenia and that no such accusations were made during the assembly’s discussions. She said she therefore took no further action.

The investigation also reports that Hermitage Capital Management Limited, which has spent years pursuing legal action related to the Magnitsky case, has formally appealed to Armenian authorities.

According to Hetq, Hermitage Capital asked Prosecutor General Anna Vardapetyan and Astghik Karamanyan, head of the Central Bank’s Financial Monitoring Center, to immediately freeze the roughly 524,000 Swiss francs transferred to Evocabank and investigate all related transactions.

The company also called on Armenian prosecutors to open a criminal investigation and pursue asset forfeiture measures, arguing that international court decisions have already established a connection between the funds and the large-scale fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.

—

Support independent reporting from the region by subscribing to The Armenian Report. Our team is funded solely by readers like you.