Transcript of the audio recorded conversation between businessman Gennady Nikolaevich (GN) with the man named Sergei (S), which took place on September 29, 2003 in the Hotel Noga Hilton in Geneva. 1 

Recording starts

GN.—Hi, Sergei, have you been waiting for long?

S.—How do you do, Gennady Nikolaevich. Not for long. Would you like me order something for you?

GN.—No, just tell me what you have, I’ll have another meeting soon. How was your trip?

S.—Not that great. In Moscow the top brass were not forthcoming before Igor put them to order. In Vienna it was even worse, they were acting up, pretending to know nothing, talked about some rubbish, in the sense of setting us all up.

GN.—I doubt it. I know Filin. He is not stupid. And as I heard, neither Likhvintsev is.

S.—But his wife Liusya is a bitch. 2 And also Surikov, he is a rotten intriguer. In short, they are up to something. Here I’ve taped my conversation with them in Vienna and then some more after I left. Also look here. These are two maps, for this year and the next. This is what in the end they drafted for me in Moscow.

GN.—What is this?

S.—Well, this is numbers: how many tons per year. It’s easy. All in all, they have fifteen from a ton of cocaine. In sum, it makes about seventy five per year.

GN.—And what about the Afghan stuff?

S.—Well, it’s more complicated. In average they have around five or six from a ton. In sum, per year it can be 220-250.

GN.—That’s approximately three hundred altogether.

S,--Right.

GN.—It means we get around thirty per year, counting two euros per month. Yes, it makes ten percent. I wonder where the rest go to.

S.—Hard to say. They have losses, also legalization costs. You know Yakov Abramovich Kosman, you met him back then.

GN.—The bald and prickly one? I remember him very well. He had one Colombian with him, Alfonso, I believe, with some Jewish surname.

S.—Yes, Davidovich, only he is Venezuelan. His grandfather was from Kiev.

GN.—[expletive] his grandfather.

S.—Anyway, almost two hundred go to the extra-budgetary fund, obshchak that is. The rest is sort of remuneration.

GN.—How much is that?

S.—Well, I don’t know. I think twenty five-thirty per year. But some of this goes to all kind of small projects.

GN.—It’s not that much considering the huge risk.

S.—But there are only a few of them in it: Filin, Alexei with Liusya and Surikov with Valera Lunev. Plus security and a couple of offices. You saw one of them, the one which is here.

GN.—I’m surprised, I thought it was bigger.

S.—Well, it’s not Yukos, of course. Here, listen to this. In my opinion, they want to get out, but first to sell everything.

GN.—Nobody will allow them to if two hundred lemons go to the obshchak and now [they pay] also to us. Let them work.

S.—How come? The question was put differently.

GN.—I do understand the desire of your smart ass khachik. 3 Only this will be even worse. He stuck to Mishka. 4 He has enough, let him go [expletive]. Especially, as you can see, there is not that much dough in it. Or he wants to grab the obshchak?

S.—No, he understands…

GN.—Let’s not, Sergei. Don’t get offended, but there is much else in this. There is a system working there, you are strangers to it, you are even a turncoat. And then we are not in Moscow, after all. You’ve said Surikov was also a CIA man. 5  It looks very much so. When did you meet [with them]? The day before yesterday. And already yesterday I was [followed?] by them. In short, I don’t [expletive] need any problems with the Americans here. Don’t drag me into this shit. God forbid the President learning through them. What will happen then! So let everything go as it is, understood?

S.—As you wish. Only in this case talk to Igor, because he gave me this assignment.

GN.—I will for sure. And what are they up to regarding Luzhkov, what about the Mayor’s Office? 6 

S.—I did not ask them directly, and they did not talk about that. As to the Georgians, they will waste them all for sure. You will hear this [on the tape]. 7 

GN.—OK, what else?

S.—Gennady Nikolaevich, they want kinda kill me. Youwill hearthis [onthetape]

GN.—Really?

S.—Well, they are without restraints, you know. That’s what Lunev’s security service mostly does. They blow up people even in Moscow.

GN.—That’s in Moscow suburbs. 8  I don’t believe they will, but I’ll talk to Filin. Anythingelse?

S.—Well, that’s all.

GN.—Look, what is this? According to this map they want to cut almost a half in Russia.

S.—That’s because of dumping. Too many work there: unorganized Tajiks, Ganeev’s line still works, also Turkmenia and the Azeris through Iran. 9 So it’s too much, dumping that is. They have their own kinda quotas. So the main actors, except the Georgians, kinda agreed that everyone had to restrict oneself somehow.

GN.—What about the Georgians?

S.—They don’t want to. Even Ubaidulloev seems to agree, but not the Georgians. 10 The tension now is because of this.

GN.—I see. I will think more about this… OK, I am leaving, getting late. We’ll get in touch on the phone.

S.—Good bye, Gennady Nikolaevich.

Примечания

1  Gennady Nikolaevich. Possibly, Gennady Nikolaevich Timchenko, oil businessman close to Vladimir Putin. Resides in Geneva. Sergei – Sergei Tarasovich Petrov, Ukrainian citizen; alias Serge Rodin, French citizen. Former officer of Soviet and then Ukrainian military intelligence, later lobbyist and middleman based in Vienna, Austria, was killed in Cape Town, SA in January 2004.

2  Liudmila Rozkina (b. 1966), former secret agent of the GRU, Likhvintsev’s wife, British citizen since 2000.

3  ‘Khachik’ is derogative name for Armenians, sometimes for Georgians.

4  Then premier Mikhail Kasyanov.

5  See Petrov’s interview.

6  The Mayor of Moscow.

7  See file “Bristol”:

8  GN refers to the killing of businessman Mikhail Vunsh in March 2002.

9  Lieutenant -General Vladimir Ganeev, former security head of the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations. Arrested and indicted in 2003 on charges of organizing a criminal group, abuse of office, and illegally trafficking in precious stones.

10  Makhmadsaid Ubaidulloev, head of Tajikistan Parliament and the mayor of Dushanbe.