MOSCOW // For centuries Russia's rulers have meticulously kept the details of state affairs concealed from outsiders. But at the Savyolovsky electronics market in northern Moscow, state secrets are freely sold for about US$50 (Dh185) a pop.
Here, amid kiosks peddling mobile phones, digital cameras and pirated versions of the latest Hollywood blockbusters, peppy salesmen rattle off a list of confidential databases leaked from government offices and conveniently packaged on CDs for public consumption.
Tax records, police wanted lists, even confidential records from the secretive Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the notorious KGB: it is a treasure trove of sensitive information available to the curious and nefarious alike.
"Most of our clients are well off," a twentysomething salesman at one of the shops selling these illegal databases said on a recent weekday afternoon.
He froze momentarily when told he was speaking to a reporter but, after being assured he was not being set up, agreed to talk while taking a smoke break outside amid the smells of processed meat wafting around from nearby hot dog and shawarma stands.
The shops are overseen by a krysha, or "roof", the salesman said on condition of anonymity, using the slang term for a protection racket commonly run by law enforcement officers. He said he did not know exactly who the suppliers were but nodded when asked if state servants were the source of the illicit information.
Demand for the data contained on these illegal discs, which are sold in blank white covers marked with handwritten annotations to denote their contents, remains brisk. The information can be used to track down people who do not want to be found, help a hitman locate a target, or simply discover what cars or property an individual owns.
Kirill Kabanov, an anticorruption activist and a member of the Kremlin's council on human rights and civil society. "It is the result of the total corruption of the government system."
The databases, however, are rarely leaked with the average Russian in mind, experts say. Typically, deep-pocketed clients get first crack at the information for a premium, said Nikolai Fedotov, a senior analyst with InfoWatch, a subsidiary of Kaspersky Lab that specialises in data security. Kaspersky is an antivirus software developer.
"Such fresh data is expensive," Mr Fedotov said. "After a few months, the same database is sold to a wider group of clients for less money. After that, it's sold to anyone at bargain prices."
The average price of a single disc at the Savyolovsky market is 1,500 roubles (Dh175).
In 2007, the Russian government enacted legislation ostensibly aimed at protecting citizens' privacy. But the law, scheduled to come into full effect next year, will do little to halt the leaks because it does not extend to numerous government agencies from which the information is released, Mr Fedotov said.
In fact, Russian law does not specify any punishment for those buying or selling the illegal databases, Mr Fedotov said. The krysha is necessary for the dealers largely because they operate in areas rife with pirated DVDs and because in Russia "it's almost impossible to sell any ware, even a legal one, without a krysha", he said.
Infowatch estimates the annual turnover in the trafficking of these discs at 100 million to 120 million roubles, a sum Mr Fedotov calls "very small". He downplayed the value of this data, saying: "It's impossible to steal money with it."
Some enterprising individuals, however, have discovered ways to use the databases to illegally pad their bottom line, Russian authorities say. Moscow police on June 8 announced they had detained 40 suspects in a scheme using illegal databases to swindle several thousand pensioners and Second World War veterans nationwide out of more than $1 million.
The suspects used databases from Russian social services agencies to call the victims and, posing as state social workers, sell them overpriced medicines advertised as miracle elixirs, Filipp Zolotnitsky, a police spokesman, told the state-run Interfax news agency.
After the pensioners began reporting the scam to police, the suspects changed tactics. Now posing as investigators, the suspects called the targets and informed them that the scam artists had been arrested and that they were entitled to a monetary reward for their vigilance, Mr Zolotnitsky told Interfax.
But to receive the money, they told the victims, the pensioners would have to transfer a sum totalling 18 per cent of the money they had lost to a given bank account, police said.
Similarly, suspects used a database of Second World War veterans to inform them they were entitled to a large monetary reward for their pain and suffering, but that an 18 per cent tax on the reward had to be transferred in advance to a bank account to receive the money, Mr Zolotnitsky told Interfax.
Repeated attempts to reach Mr Zolotnisky for comment were unsuccessful. But he was quoted by Interfax as saying the suspects defrauded the veterans out of more than 35m roubles in a month's time.
In a report last week on the state-owned Rossia television, undercover journalists used a hidden camera to record a conversation with the same pirate database salesman interviewed by The National at the Savyolovsky electronics market a week earlier.
Sitting behind his desk, sunglasses obscuring his eyes, the young man told the journalists the shop had a steady stream of fresh databases from Russian traffic police, among other wares.
"A lot of people buy the mobile phone [database]," he said. "We'll sell it to you for 1,000 roubles."
cschrek@thenational.ae
Company Profile
Name: JustClean
Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries
Launch year: 2016
Number of employees: 130
Sector: online laundry service
Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sav%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Purvi%20Munot%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24750%2C000%20as%20of%20March%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
GMC Sierra Denali 1500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Price: Dh232,500
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
