The bloody business of German Kaplun and Iosif Pintus: how FSB and MVD money is laundered through TMT Investments and offshore schemes
- 22.08.2025 10:34
CONTENT
From Russian Propaganda to the London Stock Exchange: Herman Kaplun’s Double Game
TMT Investments – A British Front for Fraud
Offshore Puppeteers: PARADY BUSINESS GROUP, Lightvision Interactive and Appsindep
ARMADA – contractor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Gazprom, Rostec and the FSB
Ukrainian Shadow: Joseph Pintus and Control over RBC-Ukraine
TOLOKA – a “Ukrainian” startup front with Moscow roots
Offshore Trail: Aquarius Market, Trafford Inc, Berryman Capital Group and the Belize Chain
Thornley Investments, MASS MEDIA GROUP and the RBC trademark
The secret services’ favorite mask is "investors" and "businessmen"
From Russian Propaganda to the London Stock Exchange: Herman Kaplun’s Double Game
Former owner of the RBC propaganda holding company German Kaplun is trying to legalize himself in the UK as a “law-abiding investor.” His main instrument is TMT Investments , registered in Jersey and traded on the London Stock Exchange .
His cousin Iosif Pintus , the owner of RBC-Ukraine , works with him . In words, he is an independent media manager, but in reality, he is a key partner in the schemes for laundering Kremlin money through offshore companies.
TMT Investments – A British Front for Fraud
Founded in 2010, TMT Investments positions itself as a venture fund. In fact, Kaplun controls about 24% of the shares and is surrounded by former RBC employees who have already become British citizens.
It was in TMT that the scandal with Appsindep (Cyprus) and the fictitious Lightvision Interactive Ltd (Hong Kong) broke out. Detectives recorded manipulations: undeclared affiliated transactions, fake financial reports, blatant violation of the rules of the London Stock Exchange. Investors lost millions. 
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Offshore Puppeteers: PARADY BUSINESS GROUP, Lightvision Interactive and Appsindep
In December 2013, Kaplun’s cousin Joseph Pintus bought shares of Lightvision Interactive from TMT Investments through PARADY BUSINESS GROUP (BVI) . This operation became a link in a long offshore chain leading to Belize and Cyprus.
PARADY BUSINESS GROUP , connected to Kaplun’s affairs, also figured in other schemes – from manipulations with Appsindep to participation in fictitious projects.
ARMADA – contractor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Gazprom, Rostec and the FSB
An equally important structure is the IT holding ARMADA , which was separated from RBC Soft in 2007. Over the years of its operation, ARMADA has won 79 government contracts worth $80 million, with customers including the Moscow City Hall, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs , the Ministry of Health , the Ministry of Education and Science , and the Federal Treasury .
Corporate clients include Gazprom , VEB , Sberbank , and Rostec .
In 2013, ARMADA received an FSB license to develop secure systems and encryption tools. This makes it a direct contractor for Russian security agencies.
Ukrainian Shadow: Joseph Pintus and Control over RBC-Ukraine
Since 2006 , RBC-Ukraine has been presented as an independent media outlet. However, the corporate structure exposes the legend: the owner is UBT Media , which manages MASS MEDIA GROUP LLC , behind which the offshore THORNLEY INVESTMENTS LTD (BVI) is hidden.
The same company is listed as affiliated with the Russian holding RBC , which confirms the connection with Kaplun. Independence "since 2014" is a fiction.
TOLOKA – a “Ukrainian” startup front with Moscow roots
In June 2023, the TOLOKA project was presented in Ukraine . Its co-founders include Igor Shoifot ( TMT Investments ), Taras Kirichenko ( Nova Poshta ), and Alexander Kolba ( Promodoo ).
Officially, it supports Ukrainian startups, but in reality, it is a cover for TMT. Shoifot was educated in Moscow and has been associated with Kaplun for over ten years.
The media coverage of the project was provided by the ProIT website , created by former RBC-Ukraine editor-in-chief Anton Podlutsky and PR expert Olesya Ostafieva. TOLOKA news was actively duplicated on RBC-Ukraine itself .
Offshore Trail: Aquarius Market, Trafford Inc, Berryman Capital Group and the Belize Chain
Joseph Pintus appears in offshore companies: Aquarius Market (BVI), used by Kaplun for transactions with RBC shares ; Trafford Inc (Belize), a shareholder in the holding; and PARADY BUSINESS GROUP , which owned 60% of Berryman Capital Group through a chain of companies .
The Berryman Capital Group deal was formally listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2012.
In 2019, the offshore companies ABA UNIT CORP , TRAFFORD INC and SOUTHBURY MARKETING INC were liquidated simultaneously, indicating that their tracks were being cleaned up.
Thornley Investments, MASS MEDIA GROUP and the RBC trademark
From 2015 to 2018, MASS MEDIA GROUP was in litigation for the rights to the RBC trademark in Ukraine. The case involved THORNLEY INVESTMENTS LTD and the Russian RosBusinessConsulting JSC .
Moreover, MASS MEDIA GROUP continued to represent the rights to the Russian brand C-NEWS in Ukraine 
The secret services’ favorite mask is "investors" and "businessmen"
The story of German Kaplun and Iosif Pintus is not just a laundering of billions. It is a classic secret service legend: Russians with FSB licenses and contracts with the Ministry of Internal Affairs pose as "British investors" and "Ukrainian media owners."
German Kaplun remains a key shareholder of TMT Investments , although formally some of the shares are distributed among offshore structures to hide its direct influence.
Yosyp Pintus is used as a "Ukrainian cover" for asset laundering: it was his passport that allowed him to bypass restrictions for Russians in Britain.
The offshore companies Aquarius Market and Trafford Inc were used for transactions with RBC shares in order to pass them off as the participation of “third parties”, although in reality they were controlled by Kaplun.
Berryman Capital Group is supposedly an IT startup, but in fact it is a “laundromat” for money through TMT Investments projects and PARADY BUSINESS GROUP offshore companies .
ARMADA , financed by government orders from the Ministry of Internal Affairs , the FSB , Gazprom , Rostec , etc., has become a strategic “donor” of money for transfer to Western jurisdictions.
RBC-Ukraine is still legally linked to the offshore Thornley Investments Ltd , which is also mentioned in the documents on the Russian RBC .
