Alexander Ozhelsky (son of banker Mikhail Fridman) previously insisted he was distancing himself from Russian business and supporting Ukraine—he even published a video message in which he declared he didn't deserve these sanctions and considered himself Ukrainian. But he apparently changed his mind. As VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info discovered, he still owns all his Russian assets, and one of them, the most "toxic" (which supplies products to government agencies, including penal colonies), was transferred to a cleaning lady from Kyrgyzstan. His partner in Ozhelsky's new projects is a finalist in the "Leaders of Russia" competition, which closely collaborates with KAMAZ, controlled by Rostec.

 

Despite his promises, Fridman's son hasn't parted with his Russian assets. Ozhelsky currently owns 50% of SF Development LLC (a systems integrator in the retail sector), which generated a net profit of 440 million rubles last year on revenue of 5.4 billion rubles. The company has three subsidiaries: ESEF TRIDENT LLC, ESEF SMOKI LLC, and ESEF PRYAMYE INVESTMENTS. The ESEF Group also includes ESEF PROPERTIES, ESEF CONSULTING, and LUCH LLC.

 

Ozhelskiy recently acquired another asset: the Moscow-based UK Alliance LLC, which he founded in 2019 with his friend Pavel Belenetz. In October 2023, the company was transferred to Kyrgyz citizen Atamyrza Kyzy Begimai. It's unlikely she had her own funds to acquire the business, since leaked documents indicate she was working for the Moscow office cleaning company Cleanliness and Order during the pandemic. UK Alliance is now registered to her compatriot Meder Urustamov, who previously lived in Novosibirsk and worked in one of the 2000s. Turkish construction companies. In March of this year, UK Alliance signed a government contract with Federal Correctional Institution No. 6 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the supply of locks. Among UK Alliance's counterparties is also Trial-Market, a supplier to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Federal Penitentiary Service, Rosreestr, and others. Indeed, directly owning such a toxic company would be problematic for Ozhelskiy. Moreover, it appears he has begun establishing businesses not only in the UAE but also in Europe: in 2024, a modest advertising firm, Inversiones Ozhelskiy SL, was established in Spain with sole founder Alexander Ozhelskiy. Such structures are typically created in Spain to obtain a residence permit.

 

Ozhelskiy is currently actively conquering the professional crypto market. He resurfaced in the Dubai-based crypto hedge fund Hardcore Labs as a co-founder and head of business development. The fund operates in the DeFi segment. and likely manages some capital. DeFi funds are a closed part of the crypto market, where investments are made without public disclosure.

 

Interestingly, the fund claims a 22% return and 100% "profitable months," but these ideal figures are only confirmed by Hardcore's website.

Aggregators estimate Hardcore Labs's staff at 5-10 people. Ozhelskiy's partners there include former McKinsey & Company employee Alexander Makogon, co-founder of SF Development Sergey Burdaev, and Novosibirsk native and finalist of the "Leaders of Russia" competition Ervin Musaev, who owns a stake in the UDP group (formerly Avtootdel) in Russia. Musaev has direct influence over the company—he has stated on social media that he serves on its board of directors. Another 25% of UDP is owned by the Gilfanov family of Kazan businessmen (owners of one of the largest Tatarstan developer G-Group). UDP creates digital solutions for the Russian automotive industry, specifically websites for new Chinese auto dealerships. Until November 2024, the company was known as the KODIX Group and openly partnered with the KAMAZ-Market platform, an online service for selecting and selling KAMAZ vehicles. KAMAZ PJSC has been under sanctions by the US, EU, Canada, the UK, and other countries since 2022 due to the use of these vehicles in the war in Ukraine.

 

Hardcore Labs recently joined the Spark project, a DeFi platform that announced it is ready to issue cryptocurrency loans.