As we headed up to the third floor, Kolya introduced me to some people as we passed them. The employees were all extremely friendly. Each floor had its own setup. There was a small kitchen, a breakroom, bathrooms, and plenty of offices.
The doors closed, and we began to move. It came to a smooth stop on the sixth floor. When the elevator doors opened, two men in perfectly tailored suits stepped in. Their posture was sharp, their movements appeared planned, calculated, and deliberate. Both men bowed their heads respectfully, turned, and faced the doors.
The doors closed, and we started our climb again. “Sir,” one of the men said, glancing at Kolya. “Everything has been prepared.”
The elevator came to another stop, this time on the eighth floor. The men nodded at Kolya. They then gave me a slight nod,more of an acknowledgement than courtesy, and stepped out. Turning sharply, they quickly disappeared down the corridor.
The doors closed again. Glancing at Kolya, I noticed he was watching me. I smiled faintly at him, suddenly feeling like an intruder. His staff carried themselves with an air of discipline and loyalty I had never seen before. They were respectful, efficient, and impossibly polished. They were nothing like any other staff I’ve witnessed at other places.
At every other place, people tend to whisper behind your back as soon as you leave a room. I felt sure that wasn’t the case here. If you ask someone to do something or be ready, you can expect delays. Here, I was sure it was the opposite. Every detail and more were anticipated, catered for. They knew his needs even before he asked.
I wasn’t sure what each floor did, but it appeared they were all working on different tasks. I was quite surprised at how organized his employees were. How smoothly the operations seemed to run. Once we reached the top floor, he introduced me to his receptionist, but there was no personal secretary.
He showed me his office briefly and then took me down the hall to the filing room. Opening the door, he pulled me in as he switched on the lights. His grip was soft. A row of lights came on, stretching left and right.
Kolya turned to me, smiling. “On the desk is a set of files. You can start with those,” he said. “None of my employees has been able to sort them properly. I was wondering, while you’re here, if you could take a look. Sort through them, identify the problems, and devise solutions. Then we can see what resources you may need for your search for the truth.”
Feeling like a child taking a test before I was allowed to access the teacher's resources, I nodded. “Sure thing,” I replied. “Give me some time, and then we can discuss it.”
Kolya grinned as he left, pulling the door shut behind him. Turning in a slow circle, I scanned the room. There were more filing cabinets than I have ever seen in one place. To one side was a couch. I wondered why it was in such an odd place, but didn’t linger on it.
The table sat in the middle of the room. It was an old oak desk with four drawers. The room had a strange warmth to it. The back wall hosted a large window. Walking closer, I opened it and looked outside.
It had a lovely view of the river running past behind the offices. Hearing the birds chirping, I smiled. It was a breath of fresh air to hear something other than the usual traffic noise. Pulling out the chair, I sat down and looked at the stack of files.
My fingers traced the first folder before I decided to pull it towards me. Flipping it open, I read the title on the first page.
‘Internal Investigation of Financial Irregularities.’
I noticed the date was missing and wondered who had worked on it. Prepared by the Internal Audit Division, it stated on the second page. This investigation was concerning Aslanov Industries. Yet, it didn’t mention which of his businesses the focus was on.
Reading further, the documents stated that there was an irregular cash flow and defective transfers. It was monitored for a period of six months. Large sums of money had been routed through multiple shell companies. These included domestic and offshore accounts. It stated no clear purpose.
On the last page, I found the summary. Sitting back, I read it out loud.
‘Multiple accounts under different names were used to move funds.
Transactions are structured in amounts barely under the reporting threshold.
Beneficial ownership of accounts is obscured. The directors are in line of fire.
Suspicious purchases include high-value assets. But they are inconsistent with business operations.’
This wasn’t a good analysis. Turning the page, I found the implications as summarized by the person who made the file. It merely stated that there was a risk of exposure to law enforcement. A potential investigation could be launched into money laundering or tax evasion. This could lead to seizure of assets. It poses a threat to the company's reputation and could be flagged externally.
This person didn’t know what they were doing, I thought to myself as I read the next steps to follow.
‘Conduct full tracing of flagged transactions.
Identify all owners.
Implement stricter monitoring of suspicious activities.’
Looking up, I stared at the door, clearing my mind before reading it again. I ended up reading it quite a few times. My head felt like it was spinning. How can one avoid such problems?
The curious part of me wondered if Kolya knew what was happening here. How close is he to being charged with money laundering? Closing the file, I opened the next one. The following files seemed easier to navigate. They involved unusualoffshore transfers here and there. Some included business discrepancies, third-party vendors, cash-heavy operations, cryptocurrency, and other minor issues.
Grabbing the notebook and pen, I started writing down solutions as I saw them. I found import and export issues about halfway through the files. I was aware of the loopholes surrounding these and created a list. The fake client accounts would require backstopping or cancellation. Rapid asset liquidation may be an avenue for some of the other problems.
