Reborn in Russia as a Big Shot

51. Hiding money

The team investigating the Ivanov family was just a small squad from Khodorkovsky's asset recovery group. They had no official status in St. Petersburg and didn't even inform the local government when they arrived; they had sneaked in.

Khodorkovsky has fallen, and like a broken drum, he's subject to all kinds of abuse. Even if he breaks the rules a little when resorting to underhanded tactics, it won't cause any major problems.

The difficulty lies in...

The Ivanov family got involved with Gusinsky.

Although Gusinsky is not as powerful as he once was, he still wields considerable media influence over Russian public opinion.

His RTVi headquarters is in New York, USA. The channel's content is broadcast globally via satellite. It is nominally not allowed to be watched in Russia, but satellite dishes are everywhere, so it is impossible to stop people from watching it privately.

The Kremlin also intends to retain RTVi to showcase its diversity and inclusivity.

RTVi will spread misinformation about things that Russian media don't report. In addition, Gusinsky is still active and maintains close ties with major Russian television stations. A lot of news that can't be reported domestically is actively delivered to him instead of being reported domestically. This is a hornet's nest.

It's not that you can't poke, but don't be afraid of getting stung after you do!

"Boss, the money's all been sent in. When are we going to make our move?"

"Wait a bit longer. If we go in and arrest him now, it will only prove that Li Xiang received a sum of money. What was that money for? It could be payment for goods, an investment, or anything else. He can say whatever he wants."

Victor was also having a headache.

Strategically, it is feasible to destroy the Ivanov family and then turn against Khodorkovsky.

But Gusinsky held the loudspeaker; anyone who wanted to harm him needed solid evidence, not just framing and slander...

It's not that it's impossible, but if something really goes wrong, whoever gave the order will take the blame. It all depends on whether they can handle the responsibility.

Can you handle it?

The stolen money seized from any of Khodorkovsky's slush funds would exceed the combined assets of the Ivanov family. If Viktor truly had connections, he wouldn't have been sent to tackle this rotten nut.

"He needs to explain where the money came from, right?"

"You can't treat him like an ordinary petty thief. He's a professional criminal. He must have already made a plan after being caught." Veteran Victor, exhausted from leading a group of good-for-nothings eager to make a name for themselves, said, "Be patient. Why did the Ivanov family send the money to St. Petersburg? To clean up their act, not to find a place to hide it. They'll be making their next move soon."

"Only by catching Li Xiang in the act of money laundering and throwing him in jail can we possibly turn him against us and get him to reveal the names of the women in the Ivanov family."

There's something we all understand, but no one can say it out loud.

As long as Li Xiang can be thrown in, even if he refuses to cooperate, false information can be spread to lure the women of the Ivanov family to silence him.

Intended murder is a much more serious charge than confiscating illicit assets!

-

Vladivostok.

Dalia is preparing to leave Russia and start her own business. Before leaving, the two women hold one last vote, a vote that will determine the future of the Ivanov family.

Elena leaned back on the sofa, her elbows resting on the armrests, the lazy sunlight shining on her face, adding to her radiance.

"I've taken stock of the family assets. If we were to liquidate them all, how much do you think we could get in total?"

Dalia guessed, "Five hundred million?"

"Eight hundred and forty million!" Elena's voice trembled slightly.

Based on the current exchange rate, it's approximately 2800 million US dollars.

"How can there be so many?" Dalia asked in astonishment.

Elena smiled wryly, "Because Andrei is too stupid. He doesn't know anything about investing. Apart from gold and US dollars, he put all the rest of his money into buying houses."

"I live in Vladivostok and didn't notice the changes in housing prices in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but when I checked the average price, I was shocked—it had doubled in just one year!"

"We really have to thank God that He didn't abandon the Ivanov family."

"I sold that villa in Green Mountain City too early, and Li Xiang got a great deal." Dalia said, a smile playing on her lips. "But he gave Roman $400,000 to learn how to trade stocks. If you include that, I'll get an extra $100,000."

Elena joked, "You're worthless, you think you can be bought off for a few hundred thousand?"

Dalia said with a serious expression, "Our family really needs someone like him."

"The Ivanov family can only have one master, and can only be a mafia member. Andrei might not be able to tolerate him after he gets out," Elena sighed, then continued, "Let's not talk about these troublesome things, let's talk about the house."

"I'm really reluctant to sell it."

"The money is safe once it's transferred out, but it can't just sit there and depreciate, right? Should we buy real estate too? Where should we buy it? Also... all of Andrei's properties are held by nominees, and if we want to get them back now, we'll have to pay a hefty price."

"Before you leave, let's decide this between the two of us: should we sell the house or not?"

"Li Xiang is willing to help now because he lacks working capital and needs to borrow our money to boost his sales performance and fraudulently obtain bank loans. Once he builds up his business or goes bankrupt, this line of work will be much harder to continue."

Elena also knew that Li Xiang wanted to fabricate sales figures to fraudulently obtain loans. Dalia, a rough and uncultured woman, knew that Li Xiang definitely had something in mind, but she didn't know exactly what it was.

"Sell." Dalia was quite decisive, explaining her reasoning: "What you hold in your hands is truly yours. No matter how high the property prices rise, as long as the money hasn't been transferred out, it's just paper wealth, and a single seal can seize it."

"unless……"

As Dalia changed the subject, Elena picked up the thread, "Unless you find a strong enough backer and get Potanin's protection."

Dalia smiled wryly. "Looks like we're on the same page."

Elena made up her mind and said, "Then let's sell it."

Dalia cautioned, "Those chosen by Andrei to hold assets on his behalf are all old friends. Even if you're temporarily blinded by profit, you should still remember our past friendship."

"580 million... I think it's enough to get back the round number 500 million. If it can be resolved through negotiation, then we shouldn't resort to bloodshed so easily."

Elena said forcefully, "If you're not comfortable with it, you can handle the house handover yourself, but if you leave it to me, you have to follow my rules."

Dalia raised her hands. "I surrender."

-

Russia has long winters, making fresh meat expensive, and vegetables even more so. Working-class people particularly enjoy canned food, a habit formed during the Soviet era.

Canned food keeps well, is inexpensive, and is convenient to eat—just heat it up.

Li Xiang lived on Qingdao Island when he was a child, and they also had the habit of storing winter vegetables in the autumn.

The Hongxing Factory is located in the suburbs, and there are no supporting facilities around it. It is not feasible to let employees bring their own meals to work. There must be a canteen, which means that winter vegetables must be stored.

In addition to cabbage, radish, potatoes, and green onions, Li Xiang also asked Wuyun Gerile to purchase a large quantity of canned goods, including canned fish, canned meat, canned vegetables, and canned fruit.

Besides feeding humans, they also have to feed the dogs.

The Hongxing factory only has one gatekeeper. What can he possibly guard? Dogs are much more useful. They provide 24-hour surveillance. The factory keeps over a dozen dogs, which are usually allowed to roam freely.

With so many mouths to feed, food is being hauled to the factory by the truckload.

-

In the dead of night, the warehouse was lit up.

Li Xiang, Wuyun Gerile, and Dajiao worked together, each with their own tasks.

Uyun Gerile was in charge of opening the cans of food, scooping out some of the food, and pouring it into a bucket to feed the dogs.

Li Xiang was responsible for rolling the money into rolls, tying them with rubber bands, putting them into plastic bags, and sealing them with a plastic sealer to prevent water from getting in.

Big Foot was in charge of stuffing the money into the cans, sealing them with a can-sealing machine, and then neatly stacking the cans filled with money onto the back rows of the shelves.

You should put regular canned goods in front.

Money laundering is a long process. It's hard to take money if it's far away, and unusual behavior can easily arouse suspicion. Keeping it close at hand means that if you get caught, you'll be caught red-handed.

Li Xiang learned these "techniques" for hiding money from his henpecked father in his previous life. He thought he might be able to use them after marriage, but he never expected to put them to practical use now.