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Alexei Zolotarev is a major contractor for Russia's MoD, as his company handles the disposal of Russian military equipment under exclusive terms granted by a personal order from Vladimir Putin.
Through his company Translom, Alexei Zolotarev is a major contractor for Russia’s Ministry of Defense. As The Insider previously reported, Zolotarev is also the holder of a Maltese passport — this despite the fact that his connections to the Putin regime have enabled him to earn millions of dollars for work directly benefiting the Russian state. Earlier today, the Telegram channel Black Mirror revealed fresh details of Zolotarev’s activities.
On Jan. 14, Black Mirror published excerpts from correspondence involving Zolotarev's lawyers. They show that in 2021, Zolotarev and his wife looked into the purchase of a yacht in the UK for 4.325 million pounds ($5.5 million, or about 457 million rubles at the current exchange rate) and a villa in the Italian municipality of Castiglione della Pescaia for 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million, or about 320 million rubles). The Zolotarevs ultimately abandoned plans to buy the yacht in 2022 — although they own another yacht.
As The Insider noted in its 2024 investigation, Zolotarev has close ties to the family of Alexander Mikheyev, the head of Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport. The hacked correspondence released today by Black Mirror provides further confirmation of that relationship, as Mikheyev’s son was named as Zolotarev’s executor and received loans from Zolotarev’s family.
Zolotarev is also friends with popular Georgian-born Russian pop singer Valery Meladze. As shown by a leak from Russia’s border service, the two traveled abroad together multiple times, including trips to France, Italy, Finland, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2023, Zolotarev was the man who shielded Meladze from Ukrainska Pravda journalists who came across the singer at a party in Courchevel that was attended by the formally “ex” wives of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov and of oligarch Andrei Bokarev.
Zolotarev’s Translom handles the disposal of Russian military equipment under exclusive terms granted by a personal order from Vladimir Putin. Because of sanctions risks, most of Zolatarev’s personal assets — including a luxury villa on France’s Côte d’Azur — are registered in the name of his wife, Maria.