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5/12/2020 Treasury Designates Brothers' Circle Members U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Press Center Treasury Designates Brothers' Circle Members 6/6/2012 Action Further Targets Major Transnational Criminal Organization WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated five key members and associates of the Eurasian crime syndicate, the Brothers' Circle. These designations were made pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13581, which targets entities or individuals determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of State, to be significant transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) or to have provided material support for, or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted for or on behalf of, such organizations. Today’s designations included Brothers' Circle leader Temuri Mirzoyev as well as Brothers' Circle members Lasha Shushanashvili, Vladimir Vagin, and Koba Shemazashvili, each of whom is designated for acting on behalf of, or providing support to, the Brothers’ Circle or its members. In addition, Kakhaber Shushanashvili is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13581 for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Lasha Shushanashvili. President Obama identified the Brothers' Circle as a significant TCO in the Annex to E.O. 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations) on July 24, 2011. Since then, the Treasury Department has targeted the Brother’s Circle by designating seven members and associates of the TCO. “This action marks the next step in Treasury’s ongoing efforts to target major transnational criminal organizations. Today’s designations expose links among these criminals and serve to protect the United States financial system from their illicit activity,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. Today, the Treasury Department is continuing to target this criminal group by identifying additional key members and associates, freezing any assets the designated persons may have within the jurisdiction of the United States and prohibiting any transactions with them by U.S. persons. These efforts are designed to protect the U.S. financial system from the malign influence of transnational criminal organizations and expose the individuals who are supporting or acting on behalf of the Brothers’ Circle organization. The Brothers' Circle is a multi-ethnic criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several Eurasian criminal groups largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union but operating in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. The Brothers' Circle serves as a coordinating body for several criminal networks, mediating disputes between the individual criminal networks and directing member criminal activity globally. Brothers' Circle leader Temuri Mirzoyev has been identified as a crime boss in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Russia. In September 2006, he was arrested along with another criminal figure during a gathering at a casino in Sochi, Russia. Brothers' Circle member Vladimir Vagin has seven criminal convictions and has been wanted by Russian law enforcement since March 2009 on charges of attempted murder. He fled to the United Arab Emirates but escaped from their custody in March 2010 and disappeared. Brothers' Circle member Lasha Shushanashvili was in overall charge of a criminal organization; his subordinates included his brother, Kakhaber Shushanashvili, and Koba Shemazashvili. Lasha Shushanashvili avoided being detained during a March 2010 Europe-wide law enforcement operation that resulted in the capture of Kakhaber Shushanashvili, but later was arrested in Greece in January 2012. Lasha Shushanashvili is wanted in Spain on several charges and in Georgia for extortion and acting as a criminal boss. In addition, he sent two assassins to meet his brother in Spain as part of an effort to murder a criminal rival. Brothers' Circle member Koba Shemazashvili was Lasha Shushanashvili's subordinate in his organized crime network and has been described as his "right-hand man.” Separately, he along with Kakhaber Shushanashvili assaulted two criminal rivals in the Netherlands. He was wanted by Spain on a variety of criminal charges, and in July 2011 he was arrested in Ukraine; he entered a Spanish prison in February 2012. Kakhaber Shushanashvili operates for or on behalf of Brothers' Circle member Lasha Shushanashvili by serving as his subordinate in his criminal network. In March 2010, he was arrested in Spain as part of a Europe-wide law enforcement operation targeting a Georgian https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1605.aspx 1/2 5/12/2020 Treasury Designates Brothers' Circle Members criminal organization. He oversaw funds that were collected, including through credit card fraud, from other Europe-based members of the network. Identifying Information: MIRZOYEV , Temuri Suleimanovich (a.k.a. MIRZOEV, Temuri; a.k.a. "TIMUR SVERDLOVSKIY"; a.k.a. "TIMUR TBILISI"; a.k.a. "TIMUR TBILISSKIY") DOB 7 May 1957 POB Tbilisi, Georgia SHEMAZASHVILI, Koba Shalvovich (a.k.a. SHERMAZASHVILI, Koba; a.k.a. "KOBA RUSTAVSKIY"; a.k.a. "TSITSILA"); DOB 1974 POB Rustavi, Georgia SHUSHANASHVILI, Lasha Pavlovich (a.k.a. MALGASOV, Ymar; a.k.a. SHUSHANASHVILI, Lasha (Iasha) Pavlovich; a.k.a. "LASHA RUSTAVSKI"; a.k.a. "LASHA RUSTAVSKY"; a.k.a. "LASHA TOLSTY") DOB 25 July 1961 POB Rustavi, Georgia SHUSHANASHVILI, Kakhaber Pavlovich (a.k.a. KOSTOV, Nikolay Lyudmilo; a.k.a. ROSTOV, Nicholas; a.k.a. SEPIASHVILI, Moshe Israel; a.k.a. SHUSHANASHVILI, Kajaver; a.k.a. SHUSHANASHVILI, Kakha; a.k.a. "Kakha RUSTAVSKIY"); 8 Rukavishnikov Street, Mariinskiy Posad, Chuvash Republic, Russia DOB 8 February1972 POB Rustavi, Georgia; alt. POB Kutaisi, Georgia VAGIN, Vladimir Viktorovich (a.k.a. "VAGON") Sadaf 2 Sector, Tower C06-T06, Apartment 603, Dubai 32900, United Arab Emirates DOB 3 February 1966 POB Raditshevo, Russia ### https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/tg1605.aspx 2/2
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