Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief's Family linked to major international food trading business
Sergei Naryshkin, the Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, known for his strong anti-Western views, is reportedly involved in a profitable food trading business facilitated by his relatives.
Journalists from the news website Insider have discovered that one of the main assets of the Naryshkin family is the major supplier of cereals, Agro-Alliance. Previously, the a share of this company belonged to the daughter of the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Veronika Naryshkina, but last year it was transferred to the daughter-in-law of the Russian chief Spy, Svetlana Naryshkina.
Agro-Alliance, in which the Naryshkin family holds a 27.15% stake, is a significant and successful company with a total turnover of over 19 billion rubles ($267 million USD). It specializes in trading rice, buckwheat, beans, semolina, flakes, and pasta. The products produced by the Naryshkin's company are supplied to major Russian penal colonies, prisons, and retail chains. For example, one of its clients is Auchan, a supermarket chain owned by French owners but known for its assistance to the Russian military.
Moreover, Agro-Alliance exports its cereals to the United States, Canada, the European Union, Israel, and other countries. In the United States, two companies from New York, namely Zenith Foods LLC and Krasnyi Oktyabr Inc, purchase buckwheat from Naryshkin. In Canada, it is East-West Foods Distribution Inc. In Germany, it is Posylka.de GmbH, in Georgia, it is Mzuri LLC, and in Israel, it is Kogan Petr Kappi.
Insider notes that there are no formal violations in these activities. Members of the Naryshkin family, unlike Sergei Naryshkin himself, are not included in Western sanction lists and enjoy vacationing in countries which Naryshkin considers hostile.