America is in shock. In October Washington Post reported that one of the oldest, most respected and influential publications in the United States - Forbes Magazine - is in the hands of a Russian billionaire Magomed Musaev - a man with a very dubious reputation and direct ties to the Kremlin. US Senator Tom Cotton, Congressmen Eric Swalwell and Michael Waltz raised the alarms and asked the US Treasury Department to investigate the circumstances of the sale. Based on materials from the hacked records of Musaev's conversations that were anonymously shared with the press, Ukrainian journalists have previously prepared a video report detailing the sale of Forbes to Musaev. Since there were a lot more materials in the 'Musaev Archive' than reflected in the video, we decided to take a look at some other angles of the story that are no less shocking than what has been already reported by colleagues. But let's first take a closer look at Magomed Musaev himself.
Who is Magomed "CASHarik"Musaev?
"Maga" Musaev is primarily known for his lucky marriage. His father-in-law is Ramazan Abdulatipov -- the ex-deputy prime minister of Russia in the government of Viktor Chernomyrdin, the minister of national policy in the government of Yevgeniy Primakov, the minister in the government of Sergei Stepashin and the ex-president of the Republic of Dagestan. Magomed Musaev is also known for the fact that for more than a decade he was the general director of the famous VDNKh, a large exhibition space in Moscow. In the days of "underdeveloped capitalism," VDNKh was known throughout Moscow for its retail outlets selling various household appliances and computers. Shopping areas were allocated to sellers by Magomed Musaev. As Russian law enforcement officers found out later, he charged rent of about $120 per m2, and only $17-20 of that amount was recorded in the documents. By the time the scam was exposed, Musaev, according to investigators, managed to "earn" about a billion dollars. He was saved from prison by his influential father-in-law. At that time, Magomed Musaev was given the nickname "CASHarik" for his fondness of cash.
Sunny California and Silicon Valley
After completing the "business" at VDNKh, Magomed Musaev moved to the United States and managed to transfer his funds there. The Russian oligarch got an O1 visa, which is supposedly available exclusively to the most talented people that America needs. He bought a luxury mansion in San Francisco worth tens of millions of dollars and declared himself a venture investor and philanthropist of Silicon Valley.
"The whole political elite of the World is gathering for my birthdays," - he boasted in one of the hacked conversations. It is noteworthy that Musaev bought an estate in San Francisco from a famous local businessman Laird Cagan, who introduced the Dagestani into the circle of the "main people" of Silicon Valley, and recommended him to others as his trusted partner. Musaev calls him a close friend and 'brother'. According to Musaev, Mr. Cagan was even allowed to use the house after it had already been sold, and they continued to spend a lot of time together.
Laird Cagan
According to his official biography, Laird Cagan is the managing director and co-founder of Cagan McAfee Capital Partners, LLC (the successor to Cagan Capital, LLC), a private equity firm he founded back in 1990. In the '90s, Mr. Cagan invested and helped create 15 high-tech companies, in which more than $500 million was invested. Laird Cagan's companies dealt with energy, alternative energy, healthcare, information technology, financial payments and “clean technologies”. Cagan was a co-founder of Evolution Petroleum Corporation, a company developing oil and gas fields using advanced technology.
Ukrainian journalists working on this story sent Laird Cagan an official letter asking him to talk about his acquaintance with Magomed Musaev, the sale of his house to him, his knowledge of the origin of Musaev's cash, the reasons why he recommended him for the US O1 visa, their joint business projects. No answer was received.
John Smith
When in California, Musaev became a close friend of John Smith, a former high-ranking official of the US Department of the Treasury. According to Musaev, he was the one who helped the Russian get the O1 visa, and also worked with him to shield him from possible American and European sanctions. His official bio states that John E. Smith is a former Director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. After 11 years as a top official at OFAC and three years as its director, Mr. Smith specializes in the field of economic sanctions, enforcement and national security. Smith claims that his speciality is "lawful" avoidance of economic and political sanctions and protection of clients in civil and criminal cases from prosecutors and regulators in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
Ukrainian journalists have previously asked the former American official about his partnership with Magomed Musaev, when they met, whether Smith assisted Musaev in obtaining an American visa O1 and knew about the origin of the money of the Russian oligarch. A separate question was about the alleged "help" of the ex-US official in "packing" Magomed Musaev's competitors and opponents into US sanctions. No response.
It is not difficult to assume that the respected and well-known American officials and businessmen mentioned by Musaev on his tapes were simply deceived by the Russian billionaire, but they should have conducted at least some due diligence before they plunged into friendship with him. Magomed Musaev is a unique liar who knows how to gain trust, to influence psychologically, to convince, and, in some cases - to bribe. Thus, turning American partners and friends into hostages of his plots and scams.
Oleksiy Goncharenko - deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, faction "European Solidarity":
"Russia continues the information war. The fact that Russia lost in this war at the beginning of a full-scale invasion does not mean that it will always be so. They also draw conclusions, try to strengthen their influence, and find new tools. The Forbes story is very revealing when a world-famous publication, respectable, may be in the hands of pro-Putin oligarchs, that is, in fact, in Putin's wallet. Because all these are Putin's wallets. And then, of course, it will be used against the free world to promote its influence, to influence American elections, to influence elections in other countries. This is all a very serious threat.
And such "figures" should not only not be allowed to buy it, but sanctions should be imposed against such persons. Realizing that their goal is information sabotage, information attacks using these tools that they acquired with dirty blood money.
Oleg Dunda - deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, faction "Servant of the People":
"Our partners in the West must understand that they are also at war. For them and their security services to start working. And catch all these agents, catch those agents of influence that exist. In order to preserve its information space from criminal influence from Moscow.
Such a respected publication as Forbes can influence more than 30 US congressmen combined. Western governments and Western democracies are arranged in such a way that they are most influenced by the point of view of society. They may want or may not, but someone as president, or congressman, must listen to society because they will not be re-elected. And in this case, the same Forbes is used to influence public opinion. And through public opinion from below it is possible to influence the actions of congressmen, the actions of government officials, etc. "
P.S. According to insider information from the United States, the deal to sell global Forbes to Magomed Musaev has been delayed because of the media attention that it drew, but is likely to be finalized in November. According to our sources, Musaev is completely convinced that it will go through as planned and is already making plans for when he will move into his new office in Manhattan.
