German Gorbuntsov

German Gorbuntsov (Russian: Герман Горбунцов, born 12 April 1966^[1]) is a Russian businessman and banker.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Biography

According to the Nezavisimaya Gazeta, German Gorbuntsov was convicted of robbery in the 1980s.^[7]

German Gorbuntsov used to own banks in Russia and Moldova, and set up nearly forty companies in security, construction, real estate and finance.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} In 2002, he became shareholder and director of Interus bank.^[7]

In 2005, he was then accused of embezzlement by the Moldovan government.^[2] He later moved to the Isle of Dogs, London.^[2]

In March 2012, he was shot by a hitman,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} but survived.^[8] A few months later, he launched a £500,000 bounty for information that could lead to identifying the perpetrators of his attack.^[9] After his shooting, the Moldovan authorities requested his extradition, accusing German Gorbuntsov of having ordered a hit of a rival businessman, Renat Usatiy. Since the Moldovan authorities could not guarantee Gorbuntsov's safety, the British authorities refused Moldova's request to give Gorbuntsov in order to protect the banker's human rights. Gorbuntsov then declared in the press that his attempted killing was ordered by « a presidential candidate in Moldova, he could be the most powerful man in the country »,^[10] namely Renato Usatîi.^[11]

German Gorbuntsov has been living under 24-hour armed guard since then. German Gorbuntsov believed he was shot because he could provide some evidence in the attempted murder of Russian billionaire Alexander Antonov, and was later requested by Scotland Yard to provide his input on the assassination of Boris Nemtsov^[12] In July 2015, he agrees to testify in this murder case.^[13]

Private life

German Gorbuntsov is married to Larisa (sometimes mistakenly referred to as 'Lorissa'^[14]), with whom he has a son, Vladislav. He is also in a relationship with Natasha Semchenkova.^[15]

References